Supreme Court Decision: Uddhav Thapa Out as CM, Hikmat Karki Set to Lead

The Supreme Court has removed Uddhav Thapa from his position as the Chief Minister of Koshi Province. The full bench, consisting of Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla, Dr. Kumar Chudal, and Nahakul Subedi, has invalidated the vote of confidence previously obtained by Thapa.

The court has further issued a directive to appoint Hikmat Karki, the parliamentary party leader of the largest party, as the new Chief Minister within the next 48 hours.

This decision comes after Thapa secured a vote of confidence from the provincial assembly on August 21, with the presiding chairman, Ismail Mansuri, also casting a vote in his favor. However, UML leader Hikmat Karki filed a petition in the Supreme Court, arguing that the Speaker’s vote was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has now acted in accordance with Karki’s request, issuing the directive as per his demand.