KATHMANDU, APRIL 19

President Bidya Devi Bhandari has appointed Kumar Chudal and Nahakul Subedi as Justices of the Supreme Court of Nepal.

They were appointed Justices of the Apex Court by President Bhandari in line with Article 129 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal, stated the Office of the President.

Chudal has been associated with High Court, Patan while Subedi with High Court, Surkhet. They had been recommended for appointment as Supreme Court Justices on March 12 by the Judicial Council.

On March 27, a writ petition was filed by Senior Advocate Surendra Bhandari challenging the eligibility of Surkhet High Court Chief Judge Nahakul Subedi.

Likewise, on March 29, Senior Advocate Dinesh Tripathi had lodged a complaint with the Parliamentary Hearing Committee challenging Subedi's nomination for Supreme Court justice. He too had stated that Subedi did not meet the eligibility criteria listed in Article 129 (5) of the constitution for appointment as SC justice.

On April 9, the Supreme Court Bar Association had also issued a press release saying Subedi did not meet the eligibility criteria for the nomination.

However, the Supreme Court, on April 12, quashed the writ petition filed by Senior Advocate Bhandari. A single bench of Justice Tej Bahadur KC ruled that Subedi, who was nominated by the Judicial Council, was eligible for the SC judgeship.