Nepal Supreme Court overturns Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's House dissolution

A special bench of the Supreme Court of Nepal has reinstated the Lower House of the Parliament which was dissolved by the government of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli in December 2020. 

The SC has deemed Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's decision to dissolve the House as an unconstitutional move, thereby overturning the decision. With this, the house will be reinstated.

The Constitutional Bench led by Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana has directed the government to summon a session of the House of Representatives within 13 days.

Nepal plunged into a political crisis on December 20 after Oli, in a surprise move, dissolved the House of Representatives, amidst a tussle for power with his rival Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'. His move to dissolve the 275-member House had sparked protests from a large section of the NCP led by Prachanda, also a co-chair of the ruling party.

Oli repeatedly defended his move to dissolve the House of Representatives, saying some leaders of his party were attempting to form a "parallel government".

As many as 13 writ petitions including the one by the ruling Nepal Communist Party's Chief Whip Dev Prasad Gurung were filed at the apex court seeking the restoration of the lower house parliament.

Just some days ago, Prime Minister Oli had warned of an impending protest if it was ordered for the parliament to be reinstated.

(With inputs from agencies)