Hearing on writ against 52 constitutional officials deferred yet again, dragging on for four years

Next hearing date uncertain

KATHMANDU, Jan 1: The Supreme Court (SC) was unable to hear a case on Wednesday regarding the 52 constitutional appointments. The case was filed four years ago.

Fifteen writ petitions have challenged the appointments of 52 constitutional officials made during Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's previous term, from December 16, 2020, to July 26, 2022.

After repeated delays in the hearings, the Supreme Court had ordered on July 27, 2022, to make arrangements so that the hearing would not be postponed or missed. Following that order, the scheduled hearing for the final trial on Wednesday also faced a situation where it could not be heard.

The case, which was scheduled for hearing on September 2, was postponed for four months before it was heard again. The next hearing date for this case is still uncertain.

Four years ago, the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli-led government appointed 52 office-bearers to various constitutional bodies. A writ petition was filed at the Supreme Court claiming that an ordinance had been issued in conflict with the constitutional provisions, that the decision was taken by the Constitutional Council meeting without informing all the members, and that the officials were appointed without a parliamentary hearing.

When the intra-party rift was raging in the erstwhile Communist Party of Nepal, the then Prime Minister Oli held a meeting of the Constitutional Council on December 15, 2020 in which Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota and then leader of the main opposition party Nepali Congress (NC) Sher Bahadur Deuba did not participate.

And on the same day, the Oli government issued an ordinance related to the Constitutional Council (Work, Duties, Rights and Procedures) by providing that the Council can take decisions by a majority of the permanent members of the Council.

Since there was no Deputy Speaker at that time, there were only five members in the Constitutional Council. Based on this, only the then Chairman of the Council and Prime Minister Oli, Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana and National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timilsina attended the meeting and recommended appointment to the constitutional commissions. The recommendation was sent to the Parliament Secretariat on December 20, 2020 for a parliamentary hearing. On the same day, then Prime Minister Oli dissolved the House of Representatives.

The petitioner claimed that the appointments made by bringing an ordinance are unconstitutional so that decisions can be made by a majority of the Constitutional Council members. Earlier, there was a controversy that the then Chief Justice Cholendra SJB Rana could not sit in the hearing because he was involved in the decision.

Chief Justice Cholendra SJB Rana did not allow the hearing on the case to proceed. After his suspension, the two chief justices have also given less priority to hearing the case. On February 15, 2023 hearing on the case was adjourned. The hearing was again deferred on March 22, 2023.