Nepal's Supreme Court restores Parliament, orders appointment of new PM

New Delhi: Nepal has been in political crisis ever since its Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli recommended the President to dissolve the House of Representatives.

Bringing an end to months of political turbulence in Nepal, the country's Supreme Court on Monday overturned Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli’s decision to dissolve the House of Representatives and ordered the appointment of Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba as the new Prime Minister.

The five-member Constitutional Bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana said that Oli’s claim to the post of the prime minister as per Article 76 (5) was unconstitutional and that the new Prime Minister should take charge by 1700 hours on Tuesday (July 13).

Bhimarjun Acharya, an expert on constitutional law, said, “Today’s ruling has brought the constitution back on track. All in all, it is the victory of the rule of law, constitutionalism, independence of judiciary and democracy.”

In May, MEA spokesman Arindam Bagchi, sharing Indian perspective at the developments in the Himalayan nation, said, "We view these as internal matters of Nepal to be dealt with by them under their domestic framework and democratic processes."

This implies India has consciously "emphasized" - let's step back and let the system and people of Nepal figure out what they want to do.

The bilateral and economic cooperation between India and Nepal is guided by the belief that the people's welfare of both countries is intertwined.

The crisis started when KP Sharma Oli on May 20, 2021, recommended that the President should invoke Article 76 (5).
Nepal Congress chief Deuba laid claim to the post of prime minister with the signatures of 149 lawmakers, including 26 from Oli’s CPN-UML, but Oli too made a similar claim saying he had the support of 153 lawmakers.