The Supreme Court has issued a four-point order to the government to immediately remove encroachments on the roadside. The Supreme Court has made this order in a writ petition filed by advocate Sudhigya Pant.

The full text of the judgment dated 17 Mangsir 2081 has been made public and explained the right of pedestrians to use the roadside.

‘In a situation where pedestrians are forced to walk on the side of the road and are at risk of road accidents by constructing structures or erecting obstacles, it is clear that the right to life will be violated,’ the judgment said. ‘It seems that the right to live with dignity guaranteed in Article 16 of the Constitution of Nepal falls within the right of pedestrians to walk freely and easily on a well-organized roadside.’ In addition, the structures erected on the roadway have also been seen to have violated the right to freedom of movement guaranteed in Article 17 by creating obstacles in the pedestrian's free and easy movement. ’ 

The Supreme Court has also presented three examples of this. It has taken into account the incident where a cyclist lost his life after falling into an open drain on 2075 Kartik 12, the incident where a rare wild animal rhinoceros lost his life after falling into a ditch dug during road construction on 2078 Magh 9, and the incident where a child lost his life after falling into an open drain during the rainy season on 2078 Asoj 8. 

The Supreme Court's judgment states that the right of pedestrians to walk freely and easily on a well-maintained roadway under the right to live with dignity guaranteed in Article 16 of the Constitution of Nepal has been violated. 

‘Not only were the respondents not ready to implement the right to live with dignity and the right to freedom of movement as provided for in the Constitution of Nepal, but they also ignored the fact that their subordinate bodies had encroached on the roadside,’ the judgment said. ‘In this way, it is not seen that the fundamental rights of citizens should be protected by coordinating with other respondents in matters falling under their jurisdiction, so in accordance with Article 47 and Article 133 (2) and (3) of the Constitution of Nepal, a four-point order has been issued for the implementation of fundamental rights and public rights.’

In the first point of the Supreme Court, it has been said that if any other work is done by the Ministry of Home Affairs and its subordinate bodies to encroach on the roadside, the Government of Nepal, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Urban Development and the Kathmandu Metropolitan City should issue necessary instructions and remove such encroachments. In the second point, the order states that in places where private individuals, companies and non-governmental organizations have encroached on the roadside by placing construction materials, platforms, ladders or any other type of material or constructing structures, the respondent Kathmandu Metropolitan City and the respondent ministries shall coordinate with each other to remove the encroachment on the roadside by issuing a public notice and specifying an appropriate time. If the encroachment on the roadside is not removed as per the notice, the Supreme Court order also states that necessary and appropriate steps should be taken to remove such encroachment and coordinate and take action. 

Similarly, in the third point,  In places where the roadsides of the roads under their jurisdiction are damaged and the drains are open, the Supreme Court judgment states that all the federal units concerned and the respondent bodies under their jurisdiction shall give necessary instructions and take all necessary actions to minimize and prevent situations where someone loses their life or suffers loss of life and property due to falling into the drains in the future. 

In the final point, the Supreme Court has said that if there is a dilemma between the respondents regarding the removal of encroachments on the road and the management of the road, mutual coordination should be carried out on the basis of cooperation, coexistence, and mutual assistance.