Nepal Supreme Court reinstates House, orders appointment of Sher Bahadur Deuba as Prime Minister

File photo of KP Oli

New Delhi: In a dramatic move, the Nepal Supreme Court on Monday (July 12) overturned Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's decision to dissolve the House and issued an interim order to reinstate it. The court ordered Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari to appoint opposition Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba as the new premier. As per the court ruling, Deuba, who had presented his majority during the election process on May 24, will be appointed as the new Prime Minister by July 13 evening. This is the second time that the apex court has decided in favour of reinstating the House during Oli's tenure.

A five-member constitutional bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana issued the ruling stating that President Bhandari's decision to dissolve the House of Representatives upon a recommendation of Oli was 'an unconstitutional act'. The bench further ordered the summoning of a fresh session of the House on July 18. Prime Minister Oli had dissolved the house on May 21 and declared snap elections on November 12 and 19. 

Earlier on December 20, 2020, Oli had dissolved the House and the Supreme Court reinstated it on February 25, 2021.