KATHMANDU – The Supreme Court of Nepal on Monday ordered the House of Representatives to be reinstated and directed the office of the president to appoint Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba as new prime minister.
The constitutional bench of the court ruled that Deuba will be appointed as prime minister in two days and a lower house session called in seven days.
The constitutional bench of the court ruled that Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba will be appointed as prime minister in two days and a lower house session called in seven days
It is the second time in five months that the court overturned a decision to dissolve the House of Representatives. As recommended by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, President Bidya Devi Bhandari on May 22 dissolved the lower house after she rejected claims by Deuba and Oli to the premiership.
At the time, Deuba presented the signatures of 149 lawmakers, including 26 from a faction of Oli's party, to the office of the president after Bhandari asked the opposition to stake a claim to a new government as suggested by Oli on the grounds that Oil could not win a vote of trust in the lower house due to the political situation at the time.
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As Deuba did, Oli himself also staked a claim, saying he had the support of 153 lawmakers.
With the lower house dismissed, an alliance of the Nepali Congress and other parties and factions appealed to the Supreme Court, as other opponents did, asking the lower house to be reinstated and Deuba be appointed as the prime minister.
The five-member constitutional bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana issued the verdict following a month-long hearing process. "It is our unanimous decision," Rana told the press.
The court ruled that Oli was not eligible to present a claim for the premiership since he had not taken a vote of trust in the lower house as requested under the constitution.
Deuba will have to seek a vote of confidence in the lower house within 30 days after his appointment as the prime minister.
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The house was last dissolved on Dec 20, 2020, but was called back by the Supreme Court on Feb 23.