Supreme Court to hear writ petition against Gandaki CM Adhikari today

KATHMANDU: Today, the Supreme Court is set to hear a writ petition filed on Tuesday demanding the cancellation of the appointment of Khagaraj Adhikari as the Chief Minister of Gandaki Province.

Surendra Pandey, leader of the Nepali Congress parliamentary party in Gandaki Province and former Chief Minister of the Province, lodged the writ petition asserting that Adhikari’s appointment violated constitutional norms by forming a majority government through the involvement of the Province Assembly Speaker.

In the petition, Pandey also seeks an order preventing Adhikari from carrying out his duties as Chief Minister. He argues that involving the Speaker to secure a majority is unconstitutional, as the Speaker is supposed to remain neutral.

Pandey’s stance draws parallels with a previous case in Koshi Province, where the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the CPN (UML) in a similar petition against the Nepali Congress.

In that case, the Court ordered that the Speaker’s vote should not be counted towards forming a majority government.