Political crisis worsens in Nepal; SC overturns PM Oli’s appointment of 20 cabinet ministers

In a major blow to besieged Nepalese Prime Minister Sharma Oli, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that his appointment of 20 ministers was unconstitutional, invalidating the last two extensions of his Cabinet following the dissolution of the House of Representatives.

A division bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana and Prakash Justice Kumar Dhungana ruled that the Cabinet enlargements following the dissolution of the Chamber were unconstitutional and thus, ministers could not perform their duties, a report in the Kathmandu Post said.

Two deputy prime ministers, Rajendra Mahato of the Janata Samajwadi Party and Raghubir Mahaseth of Olis CPN-UML, were among those who lost their posts. Mahaseth was also Minister of Foreign Affairs.

With the order, only five ministers remain in the Olis cabinet, including the Prime Minister.

Ministers include Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Bishnu Poudel, Minister of Education Krishna Gopal Shrestha, Minister of Physical Infrastructure Basant Nembang and Minister of Justice Lilanath Shrestha.

The court upheld the decision on claims filed June 7 by six individuals, including senior lawyer Dinesh Tripathi, seeking annulments of the cabinet expansion by the interim government.

KP Sharma Oli recently expanded his cabinet amid widespread criticism

Oli, 69, who is chairing a the minority government after losing a vote of confidence in the House last month, expanded his cabinet on June 4 and June 10, prompting 17 ministers, amid widespread criticism and the ongoing political crisis in the Himalayan nation. Three state ministers were also appointed.

The Supreme Court has issued an interim injunction seeking not to allow ministers appointed after the dissolution of the Chamber to function, senior lawyer Tripathi said.

The Supreme Court cited Article 77 (3) in its decision to overturn the appointments.

It says if the Prime Minister’s Office falls vacant after the prime minister fails to win a vote of confidence or resigns, the same Council of Ministers will continue to function until another Council of Ministers is formed, the report said.

What were the arguments of the researchers

The petitioners had argued that since the government has already returned to a caretaker status after the election was announced, the Constitution does not allow such a prime minister to appoint new ministers.

The development comes as the Supreme Court is hearing the case regarding the reinstatement of the 275-member House of Representatives, which was dissolved by President Bidya Devi Bhandari on May 22 on the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli. The president had also announced early elections on November 12 and November 19.

Oli last week defended his government’s controversial decision to dissolve the House of Representatives and told the Supreme Court that it is not up to the judiciary to appoint a prime minister as he can not take over the legislative and executive functions of the state.

Nepal plunged into a political crisis on December 20 last year after President Bhandari dissolved the House and announced new elections on April 30 and May 10 on the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli, amid a power struggle within the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (NCP). .

In February, the Supreme Court reinstated the dispersed House of Representatives, in a backlash from the war-torn prime minister who was preparing for early polls.

Oli consistently defended his move to dissolve the House of Representatives, saying some of his party leaders were trying to form a “parallel government”.