KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has annulled the appointment of Maheshwar Bhakta Shrestha as executive chairman of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC).
A bench of Justices Bal Krishna Dhakal and Sunil Kumar Pokharel issued a partial order on a writ petition filed by NAC board member Upendra Bahadur Karki, annulling Shrestha’s appointment.
The Cabinet had appointed Shrestha as chairman of the NAC board and executive chairman, while also assigning him the additional responsibility of managing the corporation as its general manager (MD).
The writ petition challenged the appointment as contrary to existing law and argued that it also violated the age limit. It further contended that assigning a single person both the board chairmanship and general manager’s responsibilities was not legally permissible.
Questions had also been raised over Shrestha’s age following the Cabinet’s decision to appoint him to lead the national flag carrier.
With the Supreme Court’s order, Shrestha has been removed from the position of executive chairman. The government will now have to initiate a fresh process to determine the leadership of Nepal Airlines.
