Kathmandu, August 21
The Supreme Court has annulled the government’s appointment of Maheshwor Bhakta Shrestha as executive chairman of Nepal Airlines Corporation.
A bench of Justices Sunil Kumar Pokharel and Balkrishna Dhakal, conducting the final hearing on a writ petition filed by Upendra Bahadur Karki against Shrestha, ruled on Thursday that his appointment was not in accordance with the law. However, the court said Karki’s claim that he should be appointed chairman himself was not substantiated.
Shrestha’s appointment as executive chairman and general manager of the corporation was also found to have violated the government’s appointment procedures. Under the Standards on Appointment and Nomination of Members and Office-Bearers of Public Bodies, 2016, issued by the Ministry of Tourism, a person appointed as the executive head of a public body must be at least 30 years old and not more than 65 years old.
Karki had filed the writ petition arguing that Shrestha was over 65 years old and had been appointed 34 years after retiring from the corporation. With the Supreme Court’s ruling, Shrestha has been removed from the post, and the government will now have to appoint an executive chairman through a new process. He will, however, continue to serve as a member of the board of directors.
Shrestha was also among five board members whose appointments had previously been annulled by the Supreme Court. On May 14, five members were appointed to the corporation’s board of directors. The Supreme Court later annulled those appointments, with Shrestha among the five. The court had also annulled those appointments while hearing a writ petition filed by Karki.
