KATHMANDU: The Judicial Council has recommended the appointment of 27 judges to the High Courts.

The decision was made during a council meeting held on Thursday under the chairmanship of Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut.

Among those recommended are several sitting district judges, judicial officials, and advocates.

District Judges Gopal Prasad Bastola, Giriraj Gautam, Yubaraj Gautam, Tejanarayan Paudel, Prakash Dhungana, Deepak Kumar Kharel, Shiva Bahadur Rana, Kamal Prasad Pokharel, Dal Bahadur KC, Basudev Neupane, Prakash Chandra Adhikari, Keshav Prasad Adhikari, Ramesh Prasad Gyawali, Uddhav Prasad Bhattarai, Deepak Khanal, and Avani Mainali Bhattarai have been shortlisted for elevation.

From the judicial service sector, the list includes Khadga Raj Adhikari (Registrar at High Court Pokhara), Shankar Khatri (Deputy Attorney General), Achyut Kuinkel (Assistant Registrar at the Supreme Court), and Komal Bahadur Khatri (Undersecretary at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs).

The Judicial Council has also nominated six legal practitioners from the advocate pool.

The names include Sharmila Thapa Bista, Pratap Singh Thakuriathi, Bal Krishna Gaire, Nisha Baniya, Shyam Kumar Bishwakarma, and Arun Kumar Panjiyar.

This development leaves only one vacancy in the Supreme Court and two Chief Judge positions in the High Courts yet to be filled.

Meanwhile, in a separate meeting held on Wednesday, the Judicial Council had proposed the appointment of former Deputy Attorney General Tek Bahadur Ghimire as Chairperson of the Administrative Court.