As many as 10 petitions have been filed at Nepal’s Supreme Court challenging the dissolution of the House of Representatives and the legitimacy of the interim government formed after last month’s protests, opening the door to a renewed constitutional debate in a country navigating political transition.
Supreme Court authorities said that of the 13 petitions that were brought, 10 were registered on Wednesday, as soon as the top court, whose building was burned down during demonstrations, resumed limited services.
The hearing is set to begin on October 29. A court official said that since all the petitions are similar in nature, they will be clubbed together and heard collectively.
Nepal’s youth, dubbed under the umbrella of Gen Z, took to the streets on September 8 to protest against “corruption and misrule”. After 19 people, mostly youth, died in police firing on the first day, protests escalated the next day and spiralled out of control, leading to the fall of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s government.
President Ram Chandra Poudel, on September 12, appointed Sushila Karki, a former Chief Justice, as the head of the interim Cabinet. Ms. Karki made a recommendation for the House dissolution the same day, as it was one of the key demands of the protesters.
The petitions come amid consistent calls from Mr. Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) that the House must be reinstated.
Analysts say only time will tell how the judiciary interprets the House dissolution and the formation of the government, but the main question is whether the Karki administration has handled the transition well and instilled confidence among parties to participate in the elections that are mandated to be held on March 5.
“Such petitions were expected. The quicker the government handles the situation politically, the clearer the scenario will become,” said Chandrakishore, a political commentator. “Mr. Oli has been crying foul since he re-emerged after days in hiding following his fall. Meanwhile, the government does not seem to have realised the gravity of the matter,” he added.
In the month since the formation of the new government, Mr. Oli has been most critical of the House dissolution and the Karki government.
During his party’s Central Committee meeting that started on Wednesday, Mr. Oli appeared unrepentant. Instead, he blamed external forces for the protests. Describing the current situation as “regression”, Mr. Oli said: “The government is not on the path towards elections. This government is illegitimate.”
The Nepali Congress, the largest party in the dissolved Parliament, however, has taken a softer approach so far. Its Central Working Committee meeting is under way in Kathmandu and is expected to decide whether to demand reinstatement of the House. “I believe elections are the basis to bring the country back on the constitutional track,” Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba told party members on Tuesday, as he announced that he was stepping aside as the party leader.
The CPN (Maoist Centre) and the Rastriya Swatantra Party, the third- and fourth-largest forces in the dissolved House, have expressed their keenness to participate in the elections but have called on the government to create a conducive environment for the same.
Poudel’s meeting
Amid concerns that meaningful dialogue focused on elections is lacking, President Poudel on October 11 called an all-party meeting to encourage parties to participate in the elections, but little came of it as parties remained unconvinced.
Mr. Chandrakishore, however, said it’s the government that should take the lead, not the President, in engaging parties.
“There is a flurry of petitions against the House dissolution and the current government, and there is a communication gap with political parties,” he said. “That the Prime Minister has not been able to give full shape to the Cabinet also shows everything is not alright.” Though Ms. Karki had said that her Cabinet would have a maximum of 11 members, she has yet to appoint three more Ministers even a month later.
On Thursday, Mr. Oli’s CPN(UML) once again came down heavily on the current government during a meeting with the Election Commission (EC). The party presented its views in writing, summarily stating that the government is not committed to the elections. “The government has failed to do the bare minimum to create an environment for elections,” the UML said. “In place of holding dialogue with political parties, it is trying to prohibit them.” It added that there is no alternative to reinstating the House.
It was the first meeting the EC held with parties since elections were announced.
For many, it comes as an irony that the CPN(UML) is now objecting to House dissolution — something Mr. Oli himself committed twice just a few years back. In 2020 and 2021, Mr. Oli, as Prime Minister, had dissolved the House, only to be overturned by the Supreme Court on both occasions, which called his moves unconstitutional. Now, the party believes the judiciary is likely to act based on past precedents and revive the House.
Analysts, however, say the situation now is different from the past, as the current dispensation is an outcome of street protests that demanded the dissolution, while the earlier dissolutions were acts of vengeance by Mr. Oli.
Mr. Chandrakishore said Mr. Oli has run out of options and is resorting to House reinstatement as his nationalist tactics have lost their sheen.
“The government’s immediate actions will show what political course the country will take, he said. “Questions are already being asked if the current government indeed considers elections to be its priority job. If it’s so, it must be felt by the people and political parties.”
Published – October 17, 2025 04:24 am IST
