Judicial Council recommends four High Court judges for Nepal’s Supreme Court
All four names come from the judicial service; no advocate or jurist was put forward. The recommendations must clear a parliamentary hearing before any appointment.
In this article
Nepal’s Judicial Council, the constitutional body that recommends, transfers and disciplines judges, has recommended four High Court judges for appointment to the Supreme Court. The recommendations were made on Tuesday, 6 October 2026 (20 Asoj 2083 BS), to fill vacant positions on the country’s highest court.
None of the four comes from the Bar or from academia. Every name on the list is a serving judge, which has revived a long-running argument over whether the Council is closing the route by which practising lawyers join the Supreme Court directly.
Who was recommended
- Ratna Bahadur Bagchand, Chief Judge of the Pokhara High Court
- Chandra Bahadur Saru, High Court judge
- Janak Pandey, High Court judge
- Gokarna Dangi, High Court judge
The meeting was chaired by Chief Justice Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma, who heads the Council. Also present were Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sobita Gautam, Supreme Court Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla (the senior-most justice), and the Council’s two other members, senior advocates Mahesh Kumar Nepal and Damodar Khadka.
Recommendation, not appointment
Under Article 129 of the Constitution of Nepal, Supreme Court justices are appointed by the President on the Judicial Council’s recommendation. Before that can happen, each nominee must go through the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee, a joint committee of the federal parliament that examines candidates for constitutional and judicial office. The four names are therefore recommendations only. As the Kathmandu Post reported, they will be appointed after parliamentary hearings.
There have been reports that the hearing committee has endorsed the recommendations, but the judiciary has not officially confirmed this. Nyayapalika will update this report when official documents are published.
Why the list has drawn attention
The Constitution does not limit Supreme Court eligibility to career judges. Alongside High Court judges, it treats senior advocates and advocates with the required experience as eligible.
In August 2026 Kantipur reported that the Council was preparing to stop direct appointments of legal practitioners to the Supreme Court, and that the Nepal Bar Association, the national body of lawyers, was preparing to protest. A list drawn entirely from the judicial service has put that debate back on the agenda.
What happens next
The nominees’ files go to the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee. If they are approved, the President makes the appointments.
Sources
This report is based on the media reports listed below. It will be updated when the relevant official documents are published.
Other reporting
- Four judges recommended for Nepal’s Supreme Court — The Kathmandu Post, 6 Oct 2026
- Four judges recommended for Supreme Court — Kantipur, 6 Oct 2026
- Judicial Council blocking legal practitioners from becoming judges directly in the Supreme Court; Nepal Bar prepares to protest — Kantipur, 9 Aug 2026
