Supreme Court reopens Nepali Congress leadership row

The Supreme Court has reopened the legal dispute over the leadership of the Nepali Congress after deciding to review its earlier ruling that recognised the party’s special general convention and the central working committee led by Gagan Thapa.

A three-justice bench comprising Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Sharma and justices Nityananda Pandey and Shreekanta Paudel on Thursday issued the order while responding to separate review petitions filed by former party president Sher Bahadur Deuba and former acting president Purna Bahadur Khadka.

Both argued that the Supreme Court’s April verdict, which upheld the Election Commission’s recognition of Thapa’s leadership, was flawed.

The court’s order revives the dispute but does not immediately change the party’s leadership. The Election Commission’s decision recognising the Thapa-led central committee remains valid until the court issues a fresh ruling. As a result, Thapa continues to serve as party president and his central working committee retains legal authority.

Seeking to correct what they described as an “erroneous” Court ruling, Deuba and Khadka filed separate petitions for judicial review on July 22 and July 28, respectively.

The fresh order effectively resets the case to the stage before the April judgment.

A new three-justice bench, excluding the justices involved in the earlier verdict and Thursday’s review order, will hear the case from the beginning. The Supreme Court will notify all respondents, including the Election Commission and the Thapa-led leadership, seek written responses, obtain the commission’s original records and examine evidence submitted by both sides before delivering a final judgment.

The review comes as the Nepali Congress was edging closer to a formal split. Thapa, elected party president through the special general convention in January, now faces renewed pressure, while Deuba’s faction has been emboldened after the court’s decision. The faction had been preparing to form a separate party after concluding that efforts to bridge the divide within the party were unlikely to succeed.

Deuba’s faction had called a national gathering in Kathmandu for August 14 to 16 and had been preparing to launch a separate political party if unity efforts failed.

Former acting president Khadka had declined to lead the proposed new party, after which senior leaders persuaded Shashank Koirala, son of the party founder and ideologue BP Koirala, to head the organising committee and potentially assume its leadership. Accordingly, preparations were underway to present proposals on the party statute, finances, politics and contemporary political issues at the gathering scheduled to start on August 14.

Following Thursday’s order, however, leaders from the Deuba camp signalled a change in strategy. Leader Bimalendra Nidhi said the national gathering would proceed but that immediate plans to form a separate party would likely be dropped.

“There is no plan to postpone the gathering as of now. We will sit for discussions tomorrow [Friday]. Sher Bahadur ji is scheduled to return on August 11, and we will decide our next steps after consultations,” Nidhi told Kantipur. “The court’s order restores constitutionalism, and the rule of law is a historic step.”

Asked whether the gathering would move towards forming a separate party, Nidhi said, “We will no longer move towards forming a separate party. If the Supreme Court has granted a review, why would there be a need to create a separate party?”

Leaders aligned with Thapa also urged restraint. Vice-president Bishwa Prakash Sharma said that although the case had already been fully argued before the Supreme Court, the review would provide an opportunity to present the legal and political legitimacy of the special general convention in greater detail. He said his faction was prepared to present all relevant facts before the court.

“There was no need to reopen a matter for review after the Supreme Court’s joint bench had already settled it by quashing the writ petition following lengthy arguments,” he said. “However, I believe the review process will help shed further light on the legal facts and political realities surrounding the special general convention.”

General Secretary Pradip Paudel said the court’s decision to review the case should not be interpreted as a victory or defeat for either side. Instead, he argued that it had created an opportunity for broader party unity and urged leaders to seek a political settlement rather than waiting for the court’s final decision.

The ruling has also raised questions about the process for the party’s upcoming 15th general convention. The Congress is scheduled to begin ward-level conventions on August 18, followed by the national convention from September 30 to October 5. Party leaders said they would discuss whether the existing timetable should be maintained in light of the court proceedings.

In its order, the Supreme Court indicated that one of the principal legal issues requiring further examination is whether the Election Commission violated procedural fairness by recognising the new leadership without allowing the petitioners to present their case. The court referred to provisions of the Political Parties Act and Political Parties Regulations governing the updating of party records, suggesting that compliance with these procedural requirements needs scrutiny.

The dispute emerged after the Election Commission recognised the working committee elected under Thapa’s leadership at the special general convention. The Deuba faction challenged the commission’s decision at the Supreme Court.

On April 17, a division bench of Justices Sharanga Subedi and Nripdhwoj Niraula upheld the Election Commission’s decision to recognise the special general convention of the Congress as lawful. The ruling effectively validated the working committee elected from the convention and allowed the Thapa-led committee to continue carrying out party activities.

Legal experts said the review does not invalidate the earlier judgment or suspend the current leadership. Senior advocate and constitutional lawyer Purnaman Shakya said the Thapa-led leadership would remain in office until the court reached a final decision. He explained that the review simply reopens the legal examination and that the Supreme Court could ultimately either uphold or overturn its earlier ruling after considering fresh arguments and evidence.

Advocate Apurba Khatiwada said the legality of both the special general convention and the Election Commission’s decision would now be fully examined again, with the court reassessing the legal basis of the leadership change from the beginning.

In their review petitions, Deuba and Khadka set out 18 grounds challenging the earlier judgment. They argue that the Election Commission failed to conduct the inquiries required under the Political Parties Act before recognising the Thapa-led committee. They also contend that a special general convention cannot legally function as a regular general convention for electing a new central leadership.

The petition further argues that delegates had only demanded the convening of a special convention, not the election of new office-bearers, and that the then general secretary lacked both legal and moral authority to convene such a gathering. According to the petition, only the elected central working committee retained the authority to call a special convention under the party statute.

The Deuba faction also alleges that forged documents were submitted to the Election Commission, that signatures later withdrawn by delegates were ignored, and that the commission departed from procedures it had followed in previous disputes involving political parties. It further argues that an elected party president can only be removed through procedures laid down in the party statute and not through a special convention, while also questioning whether the convention had the number of delegates claimed by its organisers.

The dispute stems from the special general convention held fromJanuary 10 to 12, which elected Gagan Thapa and a new central working committee. The Election Commission recognised the new leadership on January 17, prompting Deuba and Khadka to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court.

Separately, Deuba is expected to return to Nepal on August 11 after nearly five months abroad. He spent some time in Singapore, where he has been “undergoing medical treatment” and later moved to Hong Kong. During his stay abroad, arrest warrants were issued against him and his wife, Arzu Rana Deuba, as part of a money laundering investigation.

Authorities sought an Interpol Red Notice, but the request was rejected. The Supreme Court has since issued an interim order preventing their arrest while it considers their legal challenge. Deuba had informed investigators that he was not absconding and would return to Nepal before mid-September to cooperate with the investigation.