Within just a few hours of the Supreme Court reopening for writ registrations, more than half a dozen petitions were filed. By Tuesday afternoon, most of the petitions centered on two major demands. The first demand calls for the annulment of the President’s decision to appoint former Chief Justice Sushila Karki as the Prime Minister. The second seeks an order to reinstate the House of Representatives, arguing that its dissolution was unconstitutional.
According to Supreme Court Spokesperson Arjun Koirala, the filed petitions are currently being reviewed before formal registration. He said the registration process will proceed sequentially after verification. Due to the recent fire, the court’s software and records have been damaged, and hence, online registration remains suspended.
By Tuesday afternoon, the petitions submitted so far were related to issues of public concern. Several individuals—including members of the public, legal practitioners, and law students—have filed petitions linking the matters of government formation and House dissolution.
Some petitions were filed individually, while others were submitted jointly by groups of two or three. Reviewing the drafts, some petitioners have raised the issues of government formation and dissolution separately. Among those directly affected by the dissolution are outgoing lawmakers; however, none of them have filed petitions yet. During the second dissolution of parliament under former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s previous term, Congress and dissenting UML lawmakers (later associated with the Unified Socialist) had filed writs at the Supreme Court.
Spokesperson Koirala said hearings on the petitions will begin immediately after registration. So far, only petitions related to recent political developments—government formation and House dissolution—have been filed.
The Supreme Court is preparing to consolidate these petitions and conduct a joint hearing rather than addressing them separately. The hearings will be held at the Supreme Court Annex Building, located a short distance from the main court premises, which was damaged by fire.
During the earthquake, court sessions had also been conducted at the annex building, and those benches have remained operational even after the main building’s retrofitting. The administration plans to use the same courtrooms for upcoming hearings.
Although the apex court resumed the registration and hearing of writ petitions from Tuesday, many other types of cases will not move forward yet. Appeals against decisions of district and high courts, reviews, and petitions seeking retrials on already decided cases remain suspended. “For now, we have issued a notice stating that only petitions against orders issued by lower courts in civil and criminal cases will be accepted,” said Spokesperson Koirala. “Except for cases involving detainees or urgent criminal matters, we are not yet in a position to handle most other cases,” he added.
