From Muluki Ain to Modern Codes (1963 → 2018)
Reform and Replacement
The Muluki Ain was not frozen in time. It went through one landmark reform and, eventually, a complete replacement.
1963: King Mahendra's reform (2020 BS)
In 1963 AD (2020 BS), King Mahendra promulgated a thoroughly revised Muluki Ain. Its most important change was to formally abolish caste-based discrimination and untouchability in law, and to declare equality before the law regardless of caste, religion or sex. The reform also moved against practices such as child marriage and polygamy.
This was a turning point: for the first time, the law recognised equal citizenship. (Discrimination did not vanish in practice, but the legal foundation had changed.) The 1963 Muluki Ain then governed Nepal for 55 years.
2018: A new set of codes (Bhadra 1, 2075 BS)
On 17 August 2018 (Bhadra 1, 2075 BS), the Muluki Ain was replaced entirely. In its place, Nepal adopted a modern set of separate codes — bringing the country in line with the international practice of keeping civil and criminal law distinct:
- Muluki Civil Code, 2074 (National Civil Code) — मुलुकी देवानी संहिता
- Muluki Civil Procedure Code, 2074 — मुलुकी देवानी कार्यविधि संहिता
- Muluki Criminal Code, 2074 (National Penal Code) — मुलुकी अपराध संहिता
- Muluki Criminal Procedure Code, 2074 — मुलुकी फौजदारी कार्यविधि संहिता
- Criminal Offences (Sentencing and Execution) Act, 2074 — फौजदारी कसुर (सजाय निर्धारण तथा कार्यान्वयन) ऐन
These laws were authenticated in 2017 (2074 BS) and, after a transition period, came into force on 17 August 2018.
Why replace it at all?
- To modernise outdated provisions and language
- To consolidate criminal and civil rules that had spread across many separate statutes over the decades
- To separate civil law from criminal law, each with its own procedure code
Today, when Nepalis talk about "Muluki Ain," they usually mean this modern family of codes — even though the historical Muluki Ain itself is no longer the operative law.
