Freedom, Equality & Justice (Articles 16–24)

Your Civil and Political Rights

The first block of fundamental rights protects your freedom, your equal standing before the law, and your access to fair justice.

• Article 16 — Right to Live with Dignity. Every person has the right to live with dignity. No law may provide for the death penalty.
• Article 17 — Right to Freedom. Guarantees six freedoms: opinion and expression; to assemble peaceably without arms; to form political parties; to form unions and associations; to move and reside anywhere in Nepal; and to practise any profession, occupation, industry or trade. (Reasonable restrictions are allowed only on the grounds the Constitution lists.)
• Article 18 — Right to Equality. All citizens are equal before the law; the State shall not discriminate on grounds of origin, religion, race, caste, tribe, sex, economic condition, language, region and so on. Special provisions for disadvantaged groups are allowed.
• Article 19 — Right to Communication. No publication, broadcast or dissemination may be censored in advance; press freedom is protected.
• Article 20 — Rights relating to Justice. Protections for anyone arrested or charged — to be informed of the grounds of arrest, to consult a lawyer of choice, not to be compelled to testify against oneself, the presumption of innocence, and no punishment under retrospective law.
• Article 21 — Right of Victim of Crime. A victim of crime has the right to information about the investigation and to justice, including compensation.
• Article 22 — Right against Torture. No person under arrest or detention may be subjected to physical or mental torture; such an act is punishable and the victim is entitled to compensation.
• Article 23 — Right against Preventive Detention. Preventive detention is tightly limited and cannot be used unless there is a sufficient legal basis.
• Article 24 — Right against Untouchability and Discrimination. No one may be subjected to untouchability or discrimination on grounds of caste, origin, community or occupation. Such acts are punishable offences.

Article 24 turns the 1963 legal abolition of untouchability into a constitutional guarantee — a direct line from the Muluki Ain reforms you studied in the legal-codes course.

Source: Constitution of Nepal, Articles 16–24 (Nepal Law Commission).