Kathmandu, June 22 – The Supreme Court (SC) has issued an interim order to invalidate the expansion of the Council of Ministers following the dissolution of the House of Representatives (HoR). A divisional bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana and Justice Prakash Kumar Dhungana today issued the order to annul the expansion of cabinet by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli twice. The order has stayed Deputy Prime Minister, Minsters and State Ministers of the expanded cabinet to continue assuming their portfolio until the final decision of the case to this effect.

After the dissolution of the HoR on May 22, Prime Minster Oli had reshuffled his cabinet twice on June 4 and June 10, and inducted 20 new ministers including 11 from Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP). “The expansion of the cabinet is not in consistent with the Constitution”, the order has noted. Advocates Balkrishna Neupane and Birendra Prasad Saha separately had filed writ petitions at the apex court challenging the decision and naming the Office of the President as the defendant.(RSS)