SC to hear habeas corpus petitions during Dashain holidays

Kathmandu – The Supreme Court will remain open during the Dashain holidays to hear habeas corpus petitions. According to the court administration, hearings will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The court stated that, except on Ghatasthapana, Vijaya Dashami, Kojagrat Purnima, and Saturdays, habeas corpus petitions will be accepted and heard throughout the Dashain period.

A notice issued by the court clarified that under Section 26 of the Judicial Administration Act, 2016, hearings on such petitions will continue during the holiday period on the mentioned schedule.

Supreme Court to Resume Operations from Sunday

Kathmandu – The Supreme Court of Nepal is set to resume operations from Sunday. An emergency full bench meeting held on Thursday decided to begin registering and hearing habeas corpus petitions on a regular basis.

In a press release issued by Chief Justice Prakamansingh Raut, it was stated, “Starting Sunday, September 15, 2025 (2082/05/29 BS), this court will commence the registration and regular hearings of habeas corpus petitions. This decision was made by today’s emergency full bench meeting for the information of the general public.”

Although several important documents related to Nepal’s judicial history were destroyed in the recent arson attack at the Supreme Court, the press release stressed that the court remains committed to fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities.

“The arson nearly wiped out vital documents of Nepal’s judicial history,” the statement read. “Even under such difficult circumstances, the judiciary will continue to uphold the responsibilities entrusted to it by the Constitution, safeguard sovereignty, constitutionalism, the rule of law, fundamental rights, and the citizens’ right to justice. The court reaffirms its commitment to remain steadfast on the path of justice and resume operations as soon as possible to address public expectations.”

SC rejects petition filed against decision to ban social media

Kathmandu – The Supreme Court has rejected the petitions filed against the government’s decision to ban social media platforms. According to Supreme Court spokesperson Arjun Prasad Koirala, a total of 10 petitions were filed, all of which were dismissed.

The registrar of the Supreme Court dismissed the petitions by referring to a previous order issued in the case against SidhaKura.com. Lawyers, however, are preparing to file another petition challenging the rejection decision.

Supreme Court Turns Down Writ Against Ex-Chief Justice Rana

Kathmandu- The Supreme Court has refused to register a writ petition filed against former Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Rana. Advocate Yagyamani Neupane had filed the petition on Wednesday, arguing that Rana had refused to sign the verdict on the case against the dissolution of Parliament.

In Friday’s order, Registrar Man Bahadur Karki stated that preparing and authenticating a verdict is part of the judicial process, and therefore, the petition could not be filed under the court’s extraordinary jurisdiction. Citing Section 128 of the Civil Procedure Code 2017 and Rule 18 of the Supreme Court Regulations 2017, the court returned the petition.

On December 20, 2020, then–Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli dissolved the House of Representatives for the first time. On February 23, 2021, the Constitutional Bench led by then Chief Justice Rana annulled the dissolution.

Although the full text of the verdict was prepared and signed by the other justices, Rana refused to sign, preventing its publication. Neupane’s petition had also requested an interim order to ensure that Rana did not obstruct the preparation and authentication of the verdict.

SC Verdict: Coalition’s Fall Doesn’t Mandate PM Appointment from Largest Party

Kathmandu – The Supreme Court of Nepal has ruled that there is no constitutional obligation to automatically appoint the leader of the largest party in Parliament as Prime Minister following the fall of a coalition government.

The Court rejected the argument that a change in coalition dynamics must immediately trigger the process under Article 76(3) of the Constitution. Instead, it clarified that Article 76(2) can be applied multiple times, and the departure of one coalition partner does not necessarily require initiating a new government formation process.

This verdict was in response to demands that Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba be appointed Prime Minister after then-Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) lost a vote of confidence due to the withdrawal of support by the CPN-UML. Subsequently, President Ram Chandra Paudel had called for a new government under Article 76(2) and appointed KP Sharma Oli as Prime Minister.

The constitutional bench of the Supreme Court issued an interpretation aimed at clarifying future uncertainties in government formation, affirming that even if a coalition collapses, the President is not bound to move directly to Article 76(3). Rather, the President may again invoke Article 76(2) to invite parties to form a new majority-backed government.

Supreme Court order to end hassle of National Identity Card in public service

Kathmandu- The Supreme Court has issued a three-point directive order in the name of the government, dismissing the writ petition filed against the government’s decision to make the national identity card mandatory in a phased manner.

On 24 Jestha, 2081, the government had decided to make the national identity card mandatory for renewal of social security allowance in 28 districts from 1st Shrawan in the first phase. In the second phase, it had decided to make the national identity card mandatory in 38 districts from 1st Magh and in all the remaining districts from 1st Shrawan in the second phase. Five writ petitions were filed in the Supreme Court against that decision. The Supreme Court, putting all the writ petitions together, issued the order by a full bench of Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut, Justice Abdul Aziz Musalman and Nripadhwaj Niraula.

The Supreme Court has ordered the government to expedite the distribution of national identity cards at points near the citizens’ residences. In the directive order, the Supreme Court said, “The hassle, inconvenience and difficulty faced in the delivery of public services due to the lack of a national identity card should be ended.”

Court has ordered the establishment of stations for the collection and distribution of national identity card details in public service delivery bodies.

The Supreme Court has ordered the scientific recording of national identity card details to prevent unauthorized use or misuse of personal information. The Supreme Court has also ordered the National Identity Card Management Information System and other bodies that provide services using the National Identity Card or Identity Card number to conduct a security audit and secure the electronic details of individuals. The Supreme Court has also ordered the development of policy, legal, and structural arrangements to ensure the protection of privacy.

SC orders to send writ against appointment of PM to Constitutional Bench

Kathmandu – The Supreme Court has ordered that the decision of the writ petition against the appointment of UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli as the Prime Minister according to Article 76 (2) of the Constitution should be decided by the Constitutional Council and the dispute over the appointment of the Prime Minister should be sent to the Constitutional Bench.

The bench of Supreme Court Judge Balkrishna Dhakal has ordered that the writ to appoint Oli as the Prime Minister should be decided by the constitutional bench.

Three writs were filed claiming that the appointment of Oli as the Prime Minister according to Article 2 was unconstitutional. After the Prime Minister made by Article 76 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal failed to receive a vote of confidence the selection of a new PM should have been automatically moved according to Article 3.

Judge Dhakal’s bench said that Oli was appointed as the Prime Minister and the writ filed against him has a serious constitutional interpretation, so it was ordered to send the writ to the constitutional bench.

Supreme Court’s order to remove riverside settlements

Kathmandu- The Supreme Court has ruled on the issue of squatter settlements along the banks of rivers in Kathmandu Valley, which has been disputed for a long time, and has ordered the removal of the settlements built by encroaching government land along the river banks.

Supreme Court Judge The bench of Dr. Anand Mohan Bhattarai and Binod Sharma gave a decision to remove the settlements built by encroaching government land on the banks of the river.

The full text of the Supreme Court’s decision on the writ filed by, Advocates Prakashmani Sharma, Narayan Prasad Belbase, Rama Pant Kharel Kavita Pandey, Sharmila Shrestha, and Alok Pokharel on 9th Baisakh 2068 BS on behalf of the Public Interest Protection Forum has been published. Writ was filed against the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, the Chief Secretary, the Empowered Bagmati Civilization Integrated Development Committee, the Ministry of Physical Planning and Construction, the Ministry of Local Development and the Chief District Officers of Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur .

In the judgement, it has been directed to identify the real homeless and remove the encroached settlements in a phased manner. Real homeless residents who are forced to live without alternatives should be identified and transferred to the housing currently built in Ichangunarayan, if it cannot be managed there, arrangements must be made elsewhere and in the case of real homeless people who do not have an immediate alternative arrangement, taking into consideration the right to residence guaranteed by Article 37(1) of the Constitution of Nepal, Court has issued an order to remove the encroachment by providing cash as immediate relief to facilitate the relocation.

Similarly, for the protection of river areas, it has been ordered to allow construction of structures only by leaving 40 meters of land in the case of large rivers and streams in the valley such as Bagmati and Bishnumati. Earlier in the year 2065, the Council of Ministers decided to leave only 20 meters area in the big rivers. It has been said that 20 meters more should be left in the river where it was said that 20 meters should be left earlier.

There is also an order of the Supreme Court to leave 20 meters in the rivers and streams which had not been demarcated before. It has also ordered not to allow the construction of any structure on the land within the river boundary.

SC orders to stop the land selling of Giribandhu Tea Estate

The Supreme Court has put a full stop to the attempt to sell the land worth billions of Giribandhu Tea Estate in Jhapa .

Supreme Court ordere to stopped the selling process of the land of the tea state, stating that the ammendment of the land reform acts made by the then KP Oli-led government were not favorable to the legal provisions.

In this case, which is considered to be political corruption, the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court has given an order to confiscate more land than the limit. The writs filed by Advocate Omprakash Aryal, Bhaktaraj Bharti and Omprakash Mishra on different dates were heard simultaneously by the Constitutional Bench and gave the verdict.

The bench headed by Chief Justice Vishwambhar Prasad Shrestha has quashed the government’s decision and all the actions taken in accordance with it. In the summary order issued by the bench of Justices Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada, Prakashmansingh Raut, Sapna Pradhan Malla and Sushmalta Mathema, it is said that, ‘Controversial decision granting approval to Giribandhu Tea Estate Pvt. Ltd. to sell 343-19-12 bigha of land under Land Act, 2021 will be invalidated as it does not appear to be in accordance with the legal provisions including Section 12(c) and is of an immature nature.’

SC orders to present documents in marital rape case against Judge Giri

Kathmandu – Supreme Court has ordered to present the order passed by the Patan High Court in the marital rape case filed against the suspended District Judge Bhuvan Giri.

The bench of Chief Justice Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada and Judge Sunil Kumar Pokharel has ordered to present the documents in the case . The then judge of Rupandehi District Court, Bhuvan Giri, was ordered not to be detained by the High Court in the marital rape case.

Giri was ordered to be released on bail in the rape case filed in the Kathmandu District Court in that dispute. Against the same order, his wife filed a petition in the Patan High Court.Giri’s wife approached the Supreme Court after the Patan High Court upheld the order of the Kathmandu District Court.

Supreme Court’s question on power trade agreement with India

Kathmandu – The Supreme Court has demanded a reason for entering into a long-term electricity trade agreement with India.

The petitioner Suryanath Upadhyay, the former Secretary of the Government of Nepal and a member of the Nepal-India Enlightened Persons Group (EPG), filed a petition demanding that the implementation of the agreement signed by the Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar during his visit to Nepal be stopped and that the agreement with India be taken to the Parliament and implemented only after the approval of the Parliament. . Judge Nahkul Subedi’s bench issued a show cause order on Upadhyaya’s writ.

The court also asked the government to clarify whether this agreement is a matter of distribution of natural resources and its use according to article 279 sub-section 2 of the Constitution of Nepal, and whether it should be approved by a two-thirds majority of the total number of members in both houses of the federal parliament. In Article 920 of Article 279 of the Constitution, there is a condition that if there is a treaty or agreement related to peace and friendship, security and strategic relations, the borders of the state of Nepal and the distribution of natural resources and its use, it must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the total number of members immediately existing in both houses of the Federal Parliament.

The Supreme Court has said that since the writ petition claims that the power trade agreement should only deal with the sale of produced electricity, the nature of an agreement claims from the construction of structures to production and even water.

Bhatbhateni has to pay more than one billion Nrs in VAT evasion

Kathmandu- According to the verdict of the Supreme Court, Bhatbhateni has to pay one billion 53 million 25 lakh rupees in the case of VAT evasion.

The full bench of the Supreme Court upheld the decision it had made earlier and held that Bhatbhateni had evaded taxes by creating a fake VAT bill.

The full bench of judges Kumar Chudal, Tek Prasad Dhungana and Balkrishna Dhakal has issued the final judgment on the issue of tax evasion by issuing fake VAT bills.

Bhatbhateni had issued a fake bill of tax VAT from July 064 to January 067 and the tax office had assessed taxes and fines on Bhatbhateni for evading VAT and income tax. Which was approved by the Internal Revenue Department’s Administrative Review and Revenue Tribunal Office.

According to the decision of the Department and Revenue Tribunal Office, Bhatbhateni appealed against it to the Supreme Court after having to pay tax and fines of more than one billion rupees. After many arguments and long debates, the joint bench of the then Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Jabara and Judge Prakash Kumar Dhungana upheld the decision of the department and the tribunal office saying that Bhatbhateni’s plea was not enough .

Prachanda acquitted in contempt of court case

Kathmandu: The Supreme Court acquitted Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda in the contempt of court case and clarified that the court will not act with any prejudice or revenge.

After the Supreme Court acquitted the writ petition filed by senior advocate Dinesh Tripathi, the full text of the verdict has been made public. A joint bench of Judge Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada and Kumar Regmi acquitted Prime Minister Dahal in the contempt case .

Dahal, who is also the chairman of the CPN Maoist Center, iexpressed that “the court made a terrible conspiracy against the peace agreement while making the decision on the case regarding the maoist insurgency “. Aiming at Dahal’s statement, the full text of the Supreme Court says, “The court does not become reactive by nature, the court does not act with any bias or revenge.” It works to guide the darkness existing in the society towards the light by showing the light of justice.’

“It is not reasonable to automatically consider someone’s expression as a matter of contempt of court on the basis that it is indecent or provocative,” the full text says, “it needs to be viewed according to the subject and context.” It did not seem sensible to consider it as a contempt of court and make it a subject of punishment. It does not seem reasonable to form a judicial opinion by considering the news published in a certain newspaper as the decisive reliable basis.

It is mentioned in the full text of the judgment that there is no credible, factual basis or evidence regarding Dahal’s statement, so that it can not be considered as contempt of court.

Attention of National Human Rights Commission to appoint judges including Chief Justice

Kathmandu- The Human Rights Commission, expressing its serious attention, has urged the government to fill the vacancies of judges immediately and move the judiciary forward competently.

Even though there is a provision that the Chief Justice can be recommended for appointment one month prior the vacancy, the government and the Constitutional Council have not done any homework regarding the recommendation of the Chief Justice and due to the failure on appointing judges in the courts for a long time, the commission is concerned about the impact on the constitutional right of the citizens on getting speedy justice.

In a statement issued by the National Human Rights Commission, the spokesperson of the commission, Dr. Tikaram Pokharel has drawn the attention of the government saying that due to the failure to appoint judges on time , it has created an obstacle in the judicial rights of all the citizens.

Currently, 53 judges in the High Court and 38 in the District Court are vacant, according to the Judicial Council. The number of pending cases in the Supreme Court, High Court and District Court is increasing when the post is vacant. Due to the lack of judges, the hearing of the case could not be done on time. There are currently 30,104 pending cases in the Supreme Court. More than 26,000 cases are yet to be heard in the High Court. Similarly 102,542 cases are pending in the district court.

According to the constitution , there is a provision to recommend the Chief Justice one month before the post of Chief Justice becomes vacant, but until now, even the meeting of the Constitutional Council has not been held regarding the matter of the recommendation of the Chief Justice. Chief Justice Karki, Speaker of the House of Representatives Devraj Ghimire, Speaker of the National Assembly Ganesh Timalsena, Leader of the Opposition KP Sharma Oli, Deputy Speaker Indira Rana are members of the Constitutional Council chaired by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.

Chief Justice Harikrishna Karki is compulsorily retiring on 20th of Shrawan, 2080 BS. According to Article 284 (3) of the Constitution, there is a provision that the Constitutional Council can make a recommendation for the appointment of the Chief Justice one month before the post becomes vacant.

Jabara’s impeachment nullified: Bar Association on protest

The general secretary of the Parliament Secretariat, Bharatraj Gautam, has issued a letter stating that the impeachment of the suspended Chief Justice Choldra Shamsher Jabara has become ineffective.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has issued instructions to the security agencies to stop Cholendra Shamsher Jabara, who is about to return to the Supreme Court after Bharatraj Gautam gave a letter that the impeachment was ineffective, and on the other hand, the employees of the Bar Association have staged a protest at the gate of the Supreme Court to stop him. The Supreme Court has questioned General Secretary Gautam about the letter and also asked for an explanation.

Bar Association President Purnaman Shakya and other officials have also submitted a writ petition to the Supreme Court saying that the letter given by the General Secretary of the Federal Parliament Bharatraj Gautam stating that the impeachment proposal against Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Jabara is ineffective is illegal.

Regarding the subject , Government Spokesman and Minister of Communication and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki has said that the grand indictment against Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Jabara is still alive and the matter will be discussed in the upcoming House of Representatives.

Acting Chief Justice Deepak Kumar Karki on compulsory retirement

Acting Chief Justice Deepak Kumar Karki has gone on compulsory retirement from today.

Karki, who held the position of Acting Chief Justice for about 7 months, has gone on compulsory retirement due to the age limit of 65 years.

Due to the suspension of Jabara, Karki got an opportunity to lead the Supreme Court. With the departure of Deepak Karki, Supreme Court will be headed by Harikrishna Karki. Karki will become the Chief Justice on Mangsir 27, 2079 BS.

Petition in Supreme Court: Demands to vacate the post of Speaker and Deputy Speaker

Advocate Kishore Paudel, Anupam Bhattarai, Jagannath Dulal and others have filed a writ in the Supreme Court, demanding to vacate the posts of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

According to the provisions of Article 91 (6) (a) of the Constitution, the petitioner demands that the posts of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker should be vacated as their posts remain in place until the day before the filing of nominations for the next election to be held for the House of Representatives.

They claim that since the parties have submitted a closed list for proportional MPs, retaining the posts of Speaker and Deputy Speaker is against the constitution. It has been demanded that service facilities should also be stopped until the final decision of the petition is made, as it will be an extreme misuse of resources if they remain in the post .

In order to prevent the Speaker and Deputy Speaker from abusing the resources and services received by the State until the end of the petition, an interim order should be issued in the name of the opponent in accordance with Rule 49 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2074 to prevent them from using the services provided by the State while they are in that position. ‘, the petition demanded.

9 reasons to impeach the suspended Chief Justice Jabara

The impeachment recommendation committee has submitted a report to Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota citing 9 reasons for impeachment against the suspended Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Jabara.

In the report submitted by the committee to Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota, it has been mentioned that Jabara violated the law by reducing the Sentence in Ranjan Koirala’s case, and violated the code of conduct to be observed by judges by not taking the Constitutional appointment case to the hearing process.

It has also been mentioned that Jabara failed to fulfil the duty according to the constitutional provision of taking the final responsibility of administration of justices. Committee has also accused him for violating the law by not inviting international bids for the contract related to the construction of the Supreme Court.

Petition in the Supreme Court demanding to spend the funds of MP Development Fund

The parliamentarians of Province 1 have registered a writ in the Supreme Court against the directive the Election Commission gave to prohibit the spending of the MP Development Fund. On Bhadra 20 2079 BS., MPs of Province 1, Sarita Thapa, Mohan Kumar Khadka, Savitri Regmi, Padamkumari Gurung, with the help of Advocate Pesal Kumar Neupane, the legal advisor of the Province 1 government, filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the instructions of the Election Commission, demanding an order to spend the MP Development Fund.

Election Commission had instructed the provincial government not to implement the budget saying that spending the amount would be against the code of conduct as the date of the election had been announced.

The parliamentarians of Province 1 have insisted that the government allocated the money prior to the announcement of the election and that the people’s right to development will be curtailed if the money is not spent. The petitioner MPs has demanded that the money allocated by the government should be spent by the parliamentarians to ensure the right to development according to the principle of economic equality, social justice and inclusiveness.

The Supreme Court has ordered to call the Election Commission to discuss on the issue on Bhadra 27 2079BS.

Jabara confess in Ranjan Koirala’s case

The statement of the suspended Chief Justice Jabara, taken by the House of Representatives’ impeachment recommendation committee has ended for today.,

Earlier, the committee, which asked only six questions in two days, today asked Jabara five questions in one hour.

In today’s statement, Jabara has said that the impeachment against him is misleading and futile and despite following the constitution, the political parties are trying to take revenge on him.

During the statement, Jabara admitted that he had made a mistake in the case of then DIG Ranjan Koirala and said that he apologized if he had been impeached based on that. However, he explained that the sentence was reduced for the upkeep of the minor sons of the accused.

The next meeting of the committee will be held on the 26th of Bhadra 2079 BS.at 12:30 p.m.

Jabara giving his statement for the second day today

The statement of the suspended Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Jabara has started for the second day today.

The House of Representatives, impeachment recommendation Committee is taking statements with Jabra. Yesterday, Jabara answered four questions in the parliamentary committee spending almost four hours. Committee had prepared 43 questions for Jabara’s statement. Jabara had given a statement that he is not guilty of what he has been accused of.

An 11-member committee has been formed to investigate the impeachment.

The MPs of the ruling party filed an impeachment against Jabara on Falgun 1, 2078 BS, saying that he violated the constitution and laws by doing actions contrary to his official responsibilities.

Public appeal seeking evidence against suspended Chief Justice Jabara

The impeachment recommendation committee has issued a public notice today, asking to provide any evidence, documents or information against the suspended Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Jabara within 3 days.

It seems that after the committee started its study on the impeachment motion against Jabra, the process of evidence collection has been advanced. In the notification issued by the impeachment recommendation committee, it is said that the meeting of the impeachment recommendation committee formed by the House of Representatives dated 2079/5/8 has requested that evidence, documents and information related to the impeachment charges be provided to the committee by issuing a public notice from all the entities or individuals concerned with this matter. Since it has been decided to request evidence, documents and information, it is requested that such evidence, documents and information be sent to this committee within three (3) days from the date of publication of this notice.

Verdict of Supreme Court in Staff Adjustment Case

The Supreme Court has given the final verdict in the case of staff adjustment.

The Constitutional Bench of Chief Justice Deepak Kumar Karki, Judges Bishwambhar Prasad Shrestha, Anil Kumar Sinha, Bam Kumar Shrestha and Tank Bahadur Moktan has given the final verdict in 98 cases filed related to staff adjustment. Some of the filed cases have been dismissed, while in some cases, writs have been issued as per the request of the petitioners.

The employees whose petition has been dismissed will have to work in the place where they have been reinstated. Similarly, the adjustment of the petitioner employees of the case in which the writ was issued has been cancelled. Now the government will have to manage them according to the order of the Supreme Court.

With today’s verdict of the Supreme Court, the way has been cleared for the Public Service Commission to conduct the examination as per required.

Meeting of the impeachment recommendation committee to be held today

The first meeting of the impeachment recommendation committee formed to discuss the impeachment against the suspended Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Jabara will be held today at 11:30 am in the auditorium of the Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee at Singhdarbar.

On February 13 2022, 98 parliamentarians of the coalition party filed an impeachment motion against Jabara in the House of Representatives, alleging 21 accusations.

The House of Representatives meeting held on the 6th of March formed an 11-member committee to investigate the impeachment of Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Jabara. Similarly, the meeting of the House of Representatives held on the 7th of August passed the decision to send to the impeachment recommendation committee after a theoretical discussion on the impeachment proposal against Jabara.

The committee said that in today’s meeting of the committee, the preliminary study will be started by discussing the procedure regarding the impeachment against Chief Justice Jabara.

Transfer of 224 District Judges

The Judicial Council has decided to transfer 224 district judges.

The council meeting held on Tuesday decided to transfer 224 district judges. Similarly, the council meeting held today also decided to publish notices for the appointment of 27 vacant judges in the High Court.
List of Judges being transfer: