Interim order against Cabinet Expansion: 20 Ministers relieved of responsibility

KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has issued an interim order not to immediately implement the decision to expand the cabinet.

A joint bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Rana and Justice Prakash Kumar Dhungana has issued an interim order not to immediately implement the decision of the cabinet expansion in a writ petition filed by senior advocate Dinesh Tripathi against the decision to dissolve the House of Representatives and declare elections.

The order states that the decision to expand the Council of Ministers should not be implemented immediately as the oath of office and division of duties of the Deputy Prime Minister and Ministers by the Hon’ble President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister on 4th and 10th June 2021 is not in line with the constitution. 

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had sworn in the UML ministers after the dissolution of the House of Representatives. After joining the government, 12 ministers, including 3 Deputy Prime Ministers, and 2 ministers of state were sworn in by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on 4th June. Similarly, 7 ministers, including Home Minister Khagaraj Adhikari, were sworn in on 10th June.

By the order of the Supreme Court, Deputy Prime Ministers Bishnu Poudel (still in the post of Finance Minister), Raghubir Mahaseth and Rajendra Mahato, 15 Ministers and 3 Ministers of State have been relieved of their responsibilities. Only Prime Minister Oli, Finance Minister Poudel, Education Minister Krishna Gopal Shrestha, Law Minister Lila Nath Shrestha and Physical Infrastructure Minister Basant Kumar Nemwang are in the government now.