A meeting of the CC chaired by Prime Minister Sushil Koirala decided to recommend Shrestha to the top judiciary position.

Incumbent Chief Justice Ram Kumar Prasad Sah retires on July 11 due to his age. Shrestha will be appointed to the post by the President after Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee approves the recommendation.

As per the procedure, the CC will look into the details of candidates forwarded by the Judicial Council for the post and recommend suitable one for the parliamentary hearing. Upon the parliamentary approval, the recommended candidate will assume the office. The Interim Constitution has made it mandatory for candidates recommended for the position of chief justice, justices, ambassadors and commissioners at various constitutional bodies to undergo the parliamentary hearing.

Shrestha will be the 24th chief justice of the Supreme Court if his nomination is approved by the parliamentary hearing panel. However, if he resumes office, he will only serve for ten months in office before mandatory retirement.

Shrestha, originally from Baglung district, was born in 1951 and had joined the judicial service in 1972 as section officer and was appointed as district judge in 1979. He had also served as an under-secretary at the Ministry of Law and Justice before he rejoined the service in court in 1985. He was appointed as an apex court justice in 2005.