By Rabi Raj Thapa
The infatuation of Nepal’s retired chief justices with ruling the country began with the dawn of the Republic of Nepal, when the government led by CPN (Maoist) guerrilla leader Dr. Baburam Bhattarai failed to deliver the federal constitution on time. By that time, Nepal had spent Rs. 900 million (nine arba) for that purpose.
When the political parties failed, a historically unprecedented second election to the Constituent Assembly was announced, and sitting Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi was appointed Chairman of the Council of Ministers on March 15, 2013. He may thus be considered a rare example of a chief justice of the Supreme Court also serving as the executive head of the Council of Ministers.
Politics and the judiciary in federal Nepal remain incomplete without mentioning the alleged or debated role of another retired chief justice of the Supreme Court, Kalyan Shrestha. Nepali people know him as someone who aspired to become Nepal’s President for some time. He is also regarded as an architect of the contemporary criminal justice system and an unseen, covert actor in the functioning of Nepal’s overall judicial system.
Nepal will never forget former chief justice Sushila Karki, who was chosen to serve as the interim prime minister of Nepal from September 12, 2025, to March 27, 2026.
On September 8 and 9, 2025, 77 civilian protesters and three police personnel were killed in clashes involving the government and protesters. Around 2,000 protesters and political leaders were attacked, while properties linked to political leaders were attacked and set ablaze. The government collapsed, Parliament was dissolved, and a large number of police personnel were affected. Top leaders, including the president and prime minister, were reportedly flown to an undisclosed location by the Nepal Army for weeks.
Then, former chief justice Sushila Karki appeared to justify the dictum attributed to French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte: “I saw the crown of France lying on the ground, so I picked it up with my sword, and the people placed it upon my head,” when she became prime minister in an extra-judicial and extra-constitutional manner.
All this reflects the great infatuation of Nepal’s judicial superpowers with becoming executive superpowers and even heads of state, such as the President. In doing so, she trampled constitutional provisions in an attempt to save the same Constitution, reflecting the spirit of the Constitution and the moral responsibility of Nepal’s chief justice.
The issue involving former chief justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana is even more puzzling. When Rana became the fourth judicial ace player in Nepal’s turbulent politics, he was potentially involved in a plot against the government, particularly in dealing with power broker and kingpin Deepak Bhatta, who is behind bars in connection with some of the biggest corruption scandals Nepal has ever witnessed.
In this regard, the so-called victim, Rana, should come forward and tell the truth, including about any misconduct committed by the Nepal Police, instead of remaining in self-imposed hibernation and mobilising judicial communities. Nepali people would like to hear the truth directly from the horse’s mouth rather than see judicial communities beat around the bush.
Former chief justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud publicly cautioned that treating a court literally as a “temple” risks dangerously elevating judges to the status of deities rather than public servants. He reiterated that the task of judges is to serve the public interest—not merely their personal and professional interests.[1]
The ten-hour questioning of former chief justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana created such an uproar in Nepal that it seemed as if the police had committed an unpardonable crime. It is too common for ordinary citizens to be summoned by uniformed police without any apparent reason and detained or questioned, irrespective of their citizens’ rights. The police have been doing what the government orders them to do.
[1] Address at the Regional Conference of the National Judicial Academy in Kolkata. Source: NDTV Podcast, June 29, 2024.
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