Judicial Council recommends three High Court judges as Supreme Court vacancies wait
The 15 September meeting sent the Supreme Court registrar, a district judge and the head of the judgment execution directorate to the High Court. Lawyers said appointments should have started at the top.
The Judicial Council, the constitutional body that recommends and disciplines judges, recommended three people for appointment as High Court judges at its meeting on Tuesday 15 September (30 Bhadau 2083 BS). The meeting, chaired by Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Sharma, also recommended one district judge and transferred some judges.
Who goes where
- Bhadrakali Pokharel, Registrar of the Supreme Court — Surkhet High Court
- Himlal Belbase, judge of Kaski District Court — Janakpur High Court
- Gajendra Bahadur Singh, Director General of the Judgment Execution Directorate — Biratnagar High Court
- Bharat Kumar Dahal, bench officer at the Supreme Court — district judge, Kailali District Court
Kantipur and The Kathmandu Post reported that Belbase was due to retire on age grounds four days later. Kantipur said there were five vacancies in the high courts but only three names were recommended. Under Article 140 of the Constitution, High Court judges are appointed by the Chief Justice on the Council’s recommendation.
On the same day the Judicial Service Commission recommended Baburam Dahal and Thagindra Kattel as Supreme Court registrars and Ram Prasad Bhattarai as Secretary of the Judicial Council. Those appointments take effect only after a Cabinet decision.
Why the order was questioned
On the day of the meeting, 489 cases were listed at the Supreme Court; 230 were decided and 259 adjourned. About 29,000 cases were pending, and only 17 justices were serving against 21 posts, including the Chief Justice.
Kedar Koirala, General Secretary of the Nepal Bar Association, said the problem lay in one place and the remedy was being applied in another, and that appointments should have begun at the Supreme Court. Some Supreme Court justices also argued for working from the top down, since appointing to the Supreme Court creates vacancies in the high courts, and appointing to the high courts creates vacancies in the district courts.
A Council member told Kantipur the order was chosen because some people needed to be placed in the High Court quickly and the registrar post had to be filled. Chief Justice Sharma said: “Appointments to vacant judgeships have begun; the Supreme Court and chief judges will also be appointed soon.” At his parliamentary hearing he had promised to arrange appointments before posts fell vacant.
What the law says
Under Section 4 of the Judicial Council Act, 2073 (2016), a recommendation for a Supreme Court post falling vacant on age grounds must be made at least one month in advance, and for a post vacated for any other reason within one month. Both newspapers concluded that these time limits are not being followed in practice.
What happened next
About three weeks later, on 6 October (20 Asoj), the Council recommended four justices for the Supreme Court. The parliamentary hearing committee approved them on 7 November (21 Kartik). Three of the four are moving up from the high courts, which will open further High Court vacancies.
Sources
The Judicial Council secretariat has published the decision of 30 Bhadau 2083 on its website, but we could not open the PDF. This report is based on the media reports listed.
Other reporting
- Pressure of cases at the Supreme Court, but judicial appointments start from the High Court — Kantipur, 15 September 2026 (30 Bhadau 2083)
- Judicial Council starts high court appointments, leaves Supreme Court vacancies unresolved — The Kathmandu Post, 16 September 2026
- Judicial Council recommends three new High Court judges — Nepal News, September 2026
