President Ramchandra Paudel on Friday (November 13) appointed four judges to Nepal's Supreme Court on the recommendation of the Judicial Council, the Office of the President said. The appointments were made under Article 129 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal, The Himalayan Times reported.

Source: The Himalayan Times (THT Online)

The four new justices are Dr Ratna Bahadur Bagchand, Chandra Bahadur Saru, Janak Pandey and Gokarna Dangi. Ratopati English also reported the presidential appointments on Friday.

4new Supreme Court justices appointed
Oct 6Judicial Council recommended the four names
Nov 7Parliamentary Hearing Committee endorsed the nominees
13complaints received against the nominees during hearings

From High Court benches to the apex court

Before their appointments, Bagchand was chief judge of the Pokhara High Court. Saru and Pandey were judges at the Patan High Court's Hetauda Bench, and Dangi was chief judge of the Janakpur High Court's Birgunj Temporary Bench, according to The Himalayan Times.

Appointment completes a process begun on October 6

Friday's appointments are the final constitutional step in a process this desk reported at the endorsement stage on November 7. The Judicial Council had proposed the four names on October 6, parliamentary hearings began on November 5, and the Parliamentary Hearing Committee endorsed all four nominees on November 7, Radio Nepal and NTV World reported. Committee President Bodh Narayan Shrestha said a total of 13 complaints were received against the proposed judges during the hearing process.

Source: Radio Nepal

The Kathmandu Post had reported that the Supreme Court had five vacancies and that the Judicial Council recommended candidates for four of them, leaving one place unfilled. With the President's appointments now made, the four justices formally move from nominees endorsed by Parliament's hearing committee to members of the country's highest court.