KATHMANDU: A Constitutional bench consisting of five justices including Chief Justice (CJ) Cholendra Shumsher Rana is hearing the case against the appointment of ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Vice-chairman Bam Dev Gautam as a National Assembly member on Wednesday.

Earlier, the bench of Justice Ananda Mohan Bhattarai on September 23 had concluded that the writ petition filed by senior advocate Dinesh Tripathi will be settled by the constitutional bench.

The constitutional bench consisting of justices Dipak Kumar Karki, Hari Krishna Karki, Bishwambhar Shrestha and Ishwor Prasad Khatiwada along with CJ Rana will now hear the case today.

In a bid to patch up the widening rift in the ruling NCP, a Secretariat meeting of the party had decided to nominate Bam Dev Gautam to National Assembly with assurances that he would be given  a key portfolio in the cabinet.

Abiding by the party decision, the government recommended President Bidhya Bhandari to appoint Gautam to the Upper House. President Bhandari  appointed Gautam to the NA in line with the government’s recommendation last Thursday.

Gautam had lost the general election held in 2017 from Bardiya-1 to Sanjay Gautam of the main opposition Nepali Congress (NC).

The petition demands revocation of Gautam’s appointment citing that the trend of appointing the people who failed to win people’s vote as lawmakers has defamed the Upper House and caused decline of faith in parliamentary system as well.

Petitioners have even pointed out that such practices are against the spirit of the Constitution.