Nepal SC relieves PM Oli’s 21 ministers from cabinet

The Supreme Court of Nepal, on Tuesday, quashed the recent cabinet formation by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, days after reshuffling his cabinet. 

A bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher JB Rana and Prakash Kumar Dhungana issued an interim order revoking the cabinet expansion. 

With the order, as many as 21 ministers from the cabinet have been relieved of their posts. 

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"During the incumbent situation, the sitting Prime Minister cannot expand the cabinet alike normal times which has been clearly stated and Clause 77 (3) of the constitution states the provision that Prime Minister cannot expand the cabinet, the prima facie does not support Prime Minister to expand the cabinet," the court said in the statement. 

Now, including PM Oli, his cabinet has only five members. 

The current cabinet members are PM KP Sharma Oli, Deputy Prime Ministers as well as Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel, Minister for Education, Science and Technology Krishna Gopal Shrestha, Physical Infrastructure and Transport Minister Basanta Kumar Nembang and Law Minister Lila Nath Shrestha. 

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The 21 ministers removed from the cabinet include Raghubir Mahaseth, Rajendra Mahato, Khagaraj Adhikari, Raj Kishore Yadav, Sher Bahadur Tamang and Renuka Gurung. 

Meanwhile, the former Foreign Minister and a senior CPN-UML leader Pradeep Gyawali said the interim order will lead to political complications. 

On June 04, Oli had reshuffled his cabinet and included ten Janata Samajwadi Party leaders in the cabinet among which two were appointed as the state ministers. 

The court was hearing the several writ petitions filed against the expansions made on June 04 and June 10. The petitioners had demanded to issue an interim order against the expansion of the cabinet.