Sushila Karki, at 73 years of age, may seem an unlikely candidate to become Nepal's new leader after protests led by younger citizens, belonging to the ‘Gen Z’ age group in their 20s. But the former Supreme Court is not among faces of anti-government sentiment for the first time.
Back in 2017, just months before her retirement, the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' and a large number of MPs wanted her removed as SC chief justice.
She remains the only woman in Nepal's history to have held that post, and will become the first woman to be PM if she is indeed appointed, interim or otherwise.
Her confrontation with ex-radical Maoist leader Prachanda's coalition government in 2017 began after she overruled its appointment of the national police chief. Her bench ruled that the highest-ranking officer instead should get the job.
Her ruling was seen as a pro-democracy move after a history of political parties determining police appointments on the basis of "undue favours rather than merit", reports from the time noted.
Who tried to remove Sushila Karki and how?
At least 249 MPs of the then ruling Nepali Congress and Community Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) registered an impeachment motion against Karki. She was accused of "visibly taking sides in cases". They saw it as the judiciary interfering in the executive's powers.
{{/usCountry}}At least 249 MPs of the then ruling Nepali Congress and Community Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) registered an impeachment motion against Karki. She was accused of "visibly taking sides in cases". They saw it as the judiciary interfering in the executive's powers.
{{/usCountry}}There were protests by civil society groups, calling for an end to her suspension. It drew global attention as she was seen as a symbol of unbiased judicial corrections in an otherwise unstable polity of Nepal.
When global bodies rallied for Sushila Karki
Global body Human Rights Watch noted: “Regardless of the merits of the court’s ruling in the (police chief appointment) case, the ruling coalition’s move to impeach Chief Justice Karki is nothing short of an attempt to override a judicial decision… This violates the fundamental principle that the judiciary should be able to function without interference from political forces.”
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), a non-governmental organisation of leading judges and lawyers from around the world, also issued a statement in her support.
She has been known to be a strong voice against corruption. She once convicted and imprisoned a sitting minister on corruption charges. One of her landmark rulings allowed Nepali women to pass citizenship on to their children, a right otherwise limited to men.
How Nepal's Prachanda govt had to back down in fight against Sushila Karki
During the 2017 move against her, Lok Raj Baral, a political analyst, told Al Jazeera that the impeachment motion was only the latest case of a judiciary-versus-executive in Nepal.
“Karki took a tough stance against corruption, but she was a bit aggressive – that annoyed the politicians,” he told the news outlet.
Eventually, the then home minister Bimalendra Nidhi jumped into the fight to say he was never consulted before choosing the police chief. This meant Prachanda had to back down. Eventually a patch-up between Prachanda and Nidhi came about. The SC also ordered Parliament to put the impeachment motion on hold. She retired in June of 2017.
The Nepal SC at the time said the accusations against Karki — including the charge that her verdict in the case related to the appointment of the new police chief went against standard legal practice — were baseless.
She has since been active in civil society movement, and was seen among the protesters in the latest demonstrations too.
She emerged from among names that also included Rabi Lamichhane and Balendra Shah, both much younger and seen as relatively independent politicians. But she clearly had wider acceptance.