SC issues interim order against cabinet expansion, 20 ministers dismissed

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s cabinet expansion after the dissolution of parliament has been overturned by the Supreme Court (SC) today. With the SC order, two deputy prime ministers, 15 ministers and three ministers of state lost their post automatically.

A bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher JB Rana and Justice Prakash Kumar Dhungana on Tuesday issued an interim order relieving the Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers and Ministers of State appointed after the dissolution of Parliament.

The Supreme Court has said that Prime Minister Oli was automatically relieved from the Member of Parliament (MP) following the dissolution of the House of Representatives at midnight on May 21.

As per Article 77 (1) of the Constitution, Oli’s post of Prime Minister has become vacant and he has been ordered to remain in office only until there is another Council of Ministers as per Article 3.

The Supreme Court order states that the caretaker Prime Minister does not have the authority to expand the Council of Ministers as prime facie.

With the Supreme Court’s interim order, following ministers lost their post immediately.

• Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Raghuveer Mahaseth
  
• Deputy Prime Minister and Urban Development Minister Rajendra Mahato
  
• Minister for Home Affairs Khagraj Adhikari
  
• Minister for Energy Sarat Singh Bhandari
  
• Minister for Drinking Water Anil Kumar Jha
  
• Minister for Health and Population Sher Bahadur Tamang
  
• Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Raj Kishor Yadav
  
• Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Laxman Lal Karna
  
• Minister for Communications and Information Technology Nain Kala Thapa
  
• Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Jwala Kumari Sah
  
• Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Bimal Prasad Srivastava
  
• Minister for Federal, Tourism and Tourism Aviation Umashankar Aragaria
  
• Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens Chanda Chaudhary
  
• Minister for Youth and Sports Ekwal Mian
  
• Minister for Forest and Environment Narad Muni Rana
  
• Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration Ganesh Kumar Pahadi
  
• Minister in charge of the Office of the Prime Minister and Council Mohan Baniya
  
• Minister of State for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Chandrakant Chaudhary
  
• Minister of State for Women, Children and Senior Citizens Renuka Gurung
  
• Minister of State for Forest and Environment Asha Kumari BK

Now there are only Prime Minister Oli and four ministers left in the cabinet.

Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel, Physical Infrastructure and Transport Minister Basanta Nemwang, Education, Science and Technology Minister Krishna Gopal Shrestha and Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Lilanath Shrestha will remain in the cabinet.

After the second dissolution of the parliament on June 21, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli removed one deputy prime minister, nine ministers and three ministers of state on June 4 and appointed 10 ministers and two ministers of state, including the deputy prime minister.

Most of the newly appointed ministers were from Mahantha Thakur’s Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP).

See court order: