Apex court orders Deuba’s appointment as new Prime Minister
In a landmark verdict, Nepal’s Supreme Court on Monday directed President Bidya Devi Bhandari to appoint Opposition leader and Nepali Congress chief Sher Bahadur Deuba as Prime Minister by Tuesday and dismissed her “unconstitutional” move to dissolve the House of Representatives for a second time in five months that plunged the country into a major political crisis.
A five-member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana pronounced the verdict stating that President Bhandari’s decision to dissolve the lower House upon a recommendation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was an “unconstitutional” act, delivering a major blow to the veteran Communist leader who was preparing for snap polls.
The Bench issued a mandamus to appoint Deuba as the Prime Minister by Tuesday.
Deuba, 74, has served as the Prime Minister on four occasions; first from 1995 to 1997, then from 2001 to 2002, again from 2004 to 2005, and from 2017 to 2018. Currently, he is the Leader of the Opposition in the House.
