KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court is set to hear a writ petition today demanding the annulment of the appointment of 52 constitutional officials. The hearing is being conducted on a case seeking to nullify the appointments made through an ordinance.

During former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s tenure, the Constitutional Council had recommended the appointment of 52 officials out of the 61 vacant positions in 13 different constitutional bodies.

The Supreme Court, which had been deferring this case for the past four years, began the final hearing on february 12, 2025 . Since the hearing could not be completed on that day, it was postponed. The next hearing was then scheduled for March 5, 2025 .

Following the initial recommendation for the appointments, then-Prime Minister Oli dissolved the Parliament, preventing parliamentary hearings for the recommended officials.

According to parliamentary regulations, if a parliamentary hearing is not conducted within 45 days of the recommendation, the appointments proceed without hindrance. Based on this provision, then-President Bidya Devi Bhandari appointed 32 officials on February 3, 2021 and an additional 20 officials on June 24, 2021 making a total of 52 appointments.