KATHMANDU, Apr 1 : The senior-most judge of the Supreme Court Sapana Malla took charge as Nepal’s acting Chief Justice on Wednesday.
Malla, 62, assumed the top judicial post following the retirement of Chief Justice Prakash Man Singh Raut on Tuesday, when he reached the retirement age of 65.
Raut was appointed to the post on October 6, 2024, after serving eight years as a Supreme Court Justice.
The leadership of the apex court automatically went to Malla as the senior-most justice. She holds a Master of Laws (LLM) degree from the University of Delhi.
She is the second woman to assume the leadership of the judiciary after Sushila Karki, who later headed the caretaker government and became the first female interim prime minister of Nepal.
Article 284(3) of Nepal’s Constitution requires the Constitutional Council to recommend a new chief justice at least one month before the incumbent’s retirement.
However, the recommendation process was stalled due to the dissolution of the House of Representatives (HoR) on September 12, 2025.
President Ram Chandra Paudel had dissolved the HoR on Karki’s recommendation after the Gen Z protests, which led to the resignation of then-prime minister K P Sharma Oli.
The Constitutional Council has been unable to convene since then.
It consists of six members — Prime Minister, Chief Justice, Speaker of the House of Representatives, chair of the National Assembly, Leader of the main Opposition and Deputy Speaker.
With key positions such as Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Leader of the Opposition remaining vacant, the Council has not been able to take forward the nomination process for the Chief Justice. (PTI)
The post Sapana Malla becomes Nepal’s acting Chief Justice appeared first on Daily Excelsior.