Kathmandu. The Supreme Court has decided to uphold the appointment of 52 constitutional officers in dispute, declaring it valid.

In the judgment made public at midnight today, a five-judge bench upheld the appointment by a 3/2 majority. Three judges held that the appointment was legal, while two dissented and were of the opinion that the appointment should be annulled. The majority vote became decisive. With this, the positions of 52 officers have been saved.

The government led by the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had appointed 52 officers and members to various constitutional bodies through ordinances twice in 2077 and 2078 BS.

Senior advocate Dinesh Tripathi, advocate Om Prakash Aryal and others had filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court, saying that the appointment process was illegal. 15 writ petitions were filed against the appointment from 2077 Poush 1 to 2079 Shrawan 10.

Only Oli, Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Jabra, and National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timilsina were present in the then Constitutional Council led by Oli. The then Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota and opposition party leader Sher Bahadur Deuba were absent from the meeting.