New Delhi: The Gen Z protest movement has endorsed Nepal’s former Chief Justice Sushila Karki to lead an interim government, a day after widespread anti-corruption protests spiralled into violence and led to the fall of the K.P. Sharma Oli government.
A Nepalese jurist of rare distinction, Karki made history on 11 July, 2016, when she became the first, and so far, only woman to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nepal. Her appointment by then-President Bidya Devi Bhandari was recommended by the Constitutional Council, chaired by then-PM Oli—the same CPN (Unified Marxist–Leninist) leader whose fall from power now marks a new chapter in the nation’s political history.
In April 2017, an impeachment motion was submitted against Karki by two main parties of the ruling coalition—the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) and Sher Bahadur Deuba-led Nepali Congress—who took issue with her decision to overturn the government’s choice for chief of police.
Oli, then in the opposition, objected to the government’s move, while the pro-monarchy Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) walked out of the ruling coalition in protest.
The motion was later withdrawn in the face of public pressure and an interim order by the Supreme Court asking Parliament not to proceed on the impeachment.
Karki, who was part of the Gen Z-led protests that swept over Nepal this week, has reportedly accepted the proposal to steer the country through its political transition. This was decided in a virtual meeting of around 5,000 youth protesters held Wednesday.
Karki also has an India connection. In 1975, she gained her master’s degree in political science from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi. During her time in Banaras, she met Durga Prasad Subedi, a prominent youth leader of the Nepali Congress, whom she later married. Subedi was one of the three men who hijacked a Royal Nepal Airlines aircraft on 10 June, 1973, to gather funds to overthrow the Panchayat system.
According to reports in the Nepalese media, Karki has confirmed her willingness to assume leadership, while youth politician Sagar Dhakal, an Oxford-trained hydro-mechanical engineer currently outside Kathmandu Valley, is expected to join further deliberations soon.
Although Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah was initially considered a frontrunner to lead the interim government, he too has now endorsed Karki for the role.
Karki was first approached with the proposal and requested the protesters to gather at least 1,000 written signatures as a show of public support. According to reports in the Nepalese media, she has now surpassed that figure, securing over 2,500 signatures.
The group agreed that youth affiliated with traditional political parties should not be part of the process, marking a strong rejection of establishment politics.
Sushila Karki’s journey
Karki’s legal career is defined by landmark rulings and bold jurisprudence.
Among her most significant decisions were cases that challenged powerful interests and defended civil liberties, especially the 2015 surrogacy case that helped define Nepal’s stance on reproductive rights; as well as her verdict allowing women in Nepal to pass on citizenship to their children, which was previously a right held only by men.
Karki’s journey from political prisoner to Chief Justice is no less fascinating.
During the Panchayat regime, she was imprisoned in Biratnagar jail, an experience that would later inspire her second book, Kara. The work explores themes of injustice, resilience, and the human cost of political oppression.
Her partner, Sagar Dhakal, represents another side of Nepal’s changing political landscape. A hydropower engineer and youth activist, he rose to prominence in the 2022 general election when he challenged veteran leader Deuba as an independent from Dadeldhura.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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