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During her tenure as Chief Justice of Nepal’s Supreme Court from July 2016 to June 2017, she faced an impeachment motion against her.
Nepal’s former Chief Justice Sushila Karki looks on during the launch of her autobiography “Nyaya” at a ceremony in Kathmandu (Reuters File Photo)
Nepal’s former Chief Justice Sushila Karki was sworn in as interim Prime Minister on Friday, ending the political crisis after the fall of the K P Sharma Oli government due to violent Gen-Z protests.
As the first woman to hold the position of Prime Minister in the neighbouring Himalayan nation, her leadership is being seen as a milestone for gender equality and democratic progress in the region.
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However, in spite of being a non-political person, she has been at the eye of the storm in her illustrious career. During her tenure as Chief Justice of Nepal’s Supreme Court from July 2016 to June 2017, she faced an impeachment motion against her.
At the time, months before her retirement, Nepali Congress and the Maoist Centre, led by then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, moved an impeachment motion against Karki in the parliament in April 2017 after she overturned the appointment of Jaya Bahadur Chanda as the police chief and ordered the government to appoint Navaraj Silwal instead.
The ruling coalition accused Karki of “visibly taking sides in cases” and interfering in the executive’s powers. The impeachment motion was supported by 249 MPs of the then ruling Nepali Congress and Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M).
Nepalese media reported that disagreements within the coalition over the appointment added to the tensions.
An impeachment committee was formed to examine the case, which attracted global attention, casting Karki as a symbol of judicial independence. International agencies also rallied to her defence with Human Rights Watch saying in its report, “Regardless of the merits of the court’s ruling in the (police chief appointment) case, the ruling coalition’s move to impeach Chief Justice Karki is nothing short of an attempt to override a judicial decision…”
The Supreme Court ordered Parliament to put the impeachment motion on hold.
Sushila Karki retired in June 2017, and the case was dropped.
Who Is Sushila Karki?
Sushila Karki served as the chief justice of Nepal’s Supreme Court from July 2016 to June 2017, becoming the first female judge in the history of the country.
Born on June 7, 1952, in Biratnagar, Karki was the eldest sister of seven children. She studied political science at India’s Banaras Hindu University and graduated in law from Tribhuvan University in 1978. She began her legal career in 1979.
She also served time in prison for participating in the 1990s movement to overthrow the monarchy-led Panchayat regime. Karki became a senior advocate in 2007 and was appointed as an ad-hoc judge in the Supreme Court in 2009. She became a permanent judge in 2010.
In her role as judge, Karki had delivered a landmark verdict that significantly advanced women empowerment in the country by ruling that Nepali women could pass citizenship to their children, which was previously only allowed for men.
Karki now faces the mammoth task of rebuilding the country, which was rocked by violent protests over deep-rooted corruption, poor economic development and rising unemployment. Many see Karki as a crusader against corruption.
About the Author
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben…Read More
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben… Read More
Kathmandu, Nepal
September 13, 2025, 23:21 IST
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