Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has issued a directive order instructing the federal, provincial, and local governments to implement the right to social justice at all three levels of the state.
A full text of the order issued by a division bench of Justices Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma and Mahesh Sharma Paudel on June 18 last year, which was made public recently, has issued a directive order for effective implementation of Article 42 of the Constitution of Nepal, which guarantees the right to social justice.
“The federal, provincial and local levels, as well as institutions under all three tiers, shall adopt regular and continuous activism and engagement to fully translate into practice the provisions, spirit and intent of Article 42 of the Constitution of Nepal on the right to social justice,” reads the full text of the order.
The court issued the order hearing a writ petition filed by Khajanti Mahato Nunia of Phatuwa Bijaypur Municipality, Rautahat. Nunia had named the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Federal Parliament Secretariat, and the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration as defendants, seeking an order to ensure the implementation of the right to social justice.
Article 42, under the fundamental rights chapter of the Constitution, guarantees women, Dalits, Indigenous nationalities, Madhesis, Tharus, Muslims, backward classes, minorities, marginalized communities, persons with disabilities, gender and sexual minorities, farmers, labourers, citizens from oppressed or backward regions, and economically disadvantaged Khas Arya the right to participate in state bodies based on proportional inclusion, as they are economically, socially or educationally disadvantaged.
The Article also provides that economically disadvantaged and endangered communities have the right to special opportunities and benefits in education, health, housing, employment, food security, and social protection for their protection, upliftment, empowerment, and development.
