Supreme Court to Hear Case Against Nepal Airlines Board Member Selection

Kathmandu. The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for the writ petition against the process of selecting the board of directors of Nepal Airlines Corporation. The hearing has been scheduled in the bench of Supreme Court Justices Tekprasad Dhungana and Shanti Singh Thapa.

Uprendra Bahadur Karki of Kathmandu Metropolitan City Ward No. 31 had filed the writ petition against the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. Petitioner Karki claimed that although he participated in the presentation and interview of the selection process and gave an excellent presentation, the ministry had illegally selected other individuals by violating the order of merit and the prescribed criteria.

A notice for the appointment of a member of the corporation's board of directors was published on Baisakh 12, 2080. In which a 50-point evaluation basis was set (Educational Qualification: 8, Experience: 6, Business Work Plan: 15, Presentation: 15, and Interview: 10 marks).

Previously, on Jestha 22, the court had issued an interim order in the name of the government to not proceed with the selection committee members of the airline corporation immediately. The court had also ordered to hear this case with priority. The order states that the ministry had stated in the notice that appointments would be made according to the order of merit based on a 50-point evaluation.

However, in the selection of 5 members made at the ministerial level on Baisakh 31, 2080, the order of merit and criteria as per the notice were not followed. The court has ordered to stop all actions of the appointment process as per Rule 49 of the Supreme Court Regulations, 2074, and keep it in 'status quo'.