The unhealthy tussle between executive and judiciary

The controversy further undercuts the already low public trust in state institutions.

That the Balendra Shah-led Constitutional Council would break with the traditional seniority rule in the selection of the chief justice was not an entirely expected development. The six-member council, through a majority vote, picked Justice Manoj Kumar Sharma, fourth in seniority, over acting Chief Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla, the senior-most justice at the top court. National Assembly Chair Narayan Dahal, who has a background in the then CPN (Maoist Centre), and opposition leader Bhisma Raj Angdembe, the Nepali Congress parliamentary party leader, objected, but they were in the minority.