KATHMANDU, Dec 8: Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the reinstatement of Hitendra Dev Shakya as Executive Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA).
Shakya had filed a petition at the SC after Kulman Ghising—former Managing Director of the NEA, who became Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation with the backing of the Gen-Z movement—transferred him to the Water and Energy Commission.
Hearing the writ petition, a division bench of Justices Dr Nahakul Subedi and Shreekant Paudel issued the order to reinstate Shakya.
SC highlighted that the removal of the Executive Director of the NEA should strictly follow the procedures and grounds laid out in NEA’s Service Regulations, 2061 BS, or the performance agreement signed with the individual. However, the apex court said none of these procedures had been followed in this case.
The apex court observed that the minister’s proposal to remove the Executive Director appeared prejudiced and retaliatory, suggesting that the decision was motivated by bias rather than legitimate administrative reasons.