The Supreme Court has postponed the hearing on the interim order regarding the appointment of the Madhesh Province Chief Minister to Monday. The petition was filed by Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party leader Krishna Yadav on behalf of 74 provincial assembly members challenging the appointment.
The bench of Justices Til Prasad Shrestha and Nripadhwaj Niraula decided on Sunday to move the hearing to Monday, stating that the previous order issued on Kartik 26 should have instructed the Province Chief to respond through the Office of the Attorney General, which it did not. On Sunday, the bench ordered the Attorney General’s Office to submit the Province Chief’s response and appear in the hearing.
Yadav argued that since the Chief Minister appointed under Article 168(2) of the Constitution resigned without seeking a vote of confidence, the Province Chief should have again invoked the same clause. Instead, the Province Chief appointed CPN-UML parliamentary party leader Saroj Kumar Yadav under Article 168(3). Yadav challenged this appointment by submitting a petition signed by two-thirds of the provincial assembly members.
Earlier, the bench of Justice Nityananda Pandey had scheduled the interim order hearing for Sunday after calling both parties for discussion. However, the hearing did not proceed due to the absence of the required response, prompting the Court to reschedule it for Monday.
In a related public interest petition, the Court had already issued an interim order preventing Chief Minister Saroj Kumar Yadav—who was sworn in at a hotel—from making long-term decisions, deeming his government “caretaker.” If the Court issues an interim order in Monday’s hearing on behalf of the 74 provincial assembly members, it could clear the way for the formation of a new government.
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