Kathmandu, April 12

Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court today quashed writ petitions filed challenging the appointment of 80 high court judges.

The constitutional bench is led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana and has other justices Deepak Kumar Karki, Kedar Prasad Chalise, Meera Khadka and Hari Krishna Karki as its members.

Petitions were filed by Prakash Kumar Kafle, Toyanath Dhungana, Durgabandhu Pokharel and Surendra Prasad Yadav, separately raising constitutional and legal questions against the Judicial Council’s decision to nominate 80 high court judges. The Judicial Council had, on 13 January 2017, nominated 16 legal practitioners from among joint-secretary and special class officers, 37 from among district judges and 27 from among lawyers. Some petitioners had argued that the JC violated constitutional and legal requirement to ensure inclusion while making the appointments.