ORDER

1. The framers of the Constitution, in the Preamble to the Constitution, guaranteed to secure its citizens justice, social, economic and political as well as equality of status and opportunity but the ‘right to employment’ was not incorporated in Part III of the Constitution as a Fundamental Right. By judicial pronouncements, the courts expanded the scope of Article 21 of the Constitution of India and included various facets of life as rights protected under the said Article despite the fact that they had not been incorporated by specific language in Part III by the framers of the Constitution. Judgments of this Court in the cases of Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation,1 [(1985) 3 SCC 545] and Narendra Kumar Chandla v. State of Haryana,2 [(1994) 4 SCC 460] expanded the scope of Article 21 and held that ‘right to livelihood’ is integral part of the ‘right to life’. Taking cognizance of the stark reality that majority of the Indian population (about 76%) is residing in rural areas and unemployment was the greatest challenge before any State or the Central Government, the Parliament decided to enact a law to provide rural employment to restricted persons as stated in suc