The constitutional bench of Supreme Court (SC) resumed official work on Wednesday. Its work remained stalled after the dismissal of former chief justice Gopal Prasad Parajuli. The bench resumed work after Acting Chief Justice Deepak Raj Joshee named Kedar Prasad Chalise as a new member of the bench.

Currently, the bench comprises Om Prakash Mishra, Cholendra Shumsher Rana, Deepak Kumar Karki and Chalise. The bench deals with cases on implementation of the constitution and the electoral process. SC administration said the former has around 400 cases including several related to the House of Representatives (HoR) and the Provincial Assembly elections. The bench has not convened after the Judicial Council Secretariat (JC) terminated Parajuli on March 14. This has delayed hearing of cases on constitution. Election rigging lawsuits against Nepali Congress (NC) lawmakers Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar, Amresh Singh and others remain pending.

The bench has a case filed against the government’s decision to appoint three members of National Assembly (NA), ignoring the recommendation of the previous government led by NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba. By forwarding the case to the bench, the SC enabled the swearing-in of the three members of the NA. 

Many complain the bench’s tardy progress. Two reasons explain the constitutional bench’s slow progress. One, the bench came into existence two years after the promulgation of the constitution. Two, the appointment of its members took a long time. According to the constitution, the bench would resolve jurisdictional disputes between central and provincial governments; between the seven provinces; between a province and local unit, and those between local levels.

Similarly, the court would settle disputes on election of members of Federal Parliament, Provincial Assembly and National Assembly.