Kathmandu, June 20: The Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional the continuation of seven ministers in the last cabinet of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, even though the UML did not return to the UCPN (M) after the March 8 ruling.

A single bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Jabra has revoked the re-appointment of seven ministers, including Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa, who are not members of the former federal parliament, as per Article 78 of the constitution.

After a preliminary hearing on the writ petitions filed by advocates Kapil Dev Dhakal and Biraj Thapa, the bench of Chief Justice Rana ruled that Oli could be a minister for six months at a time and in the meantime he would automatically resign if he was not a member of the federal parliament. Along with this order, Rana has also explained Article 78 of the constitution.

Following the order, Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa Badal, Industry Minister Lekhraj Bhatt, Energy Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, Urban Development Minister Prabhu Sah, Drinking Water Minister Mani Thapa, Labor Minister Gauri Shankar Chaudhary and Youth and Sports Minister Dawa Lama have been relieved of their ministerial posts.

They can now become ministers only after being elected to the House of Representatives or the National Assembly. A previous writ petition calling the appointment of the seven ministers unconstitutional was also heard in Rana’s bench. However, at that time, Rana had sent the writ petitioner to a full hearing saying that he had not sought an interim order. .