Supreme Court declines interim stay on EC decision recognising Thapa-led Congress

Kathmandu: The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to issue an interim order on a petition filed by the Sher Bahadur Deuba faction of the Nepali Congress against the Election Commission (EC). The decision allows the EC’s Friday ruling — recognising the new Nepali Congress leadership under Gagan Thapa — to remain in force.

A single bench of Justice Sunil Pokharel ruled that there was no need to impose an immediate stay in the dispute over the party’s official status. The court observed that the petition involves complex constitutional questions intertwined with politics that require adjudication. The issue will now be settled only with the final verdict.

Until then, the Thapa-led committee has been allowed to continue functioning. The Deuba faction had moved the apex court on Sunday, challenging the EC’s decision to grant legitimacy to the Thapa-led committee elected through a special convention. This effectively ended Deuba’s term as party president and invalidated the previous committee elected at the last convention.

Deuba supporters argued that the EC issued its decision without adequately hearing both sides or properly assessing the legality and legitimacy of the convention that elected Thapa’s leadership. They described the commission’s move as prejudicial and potentially damaging to democratic processes within the country’s largest democratic political party.

Following the Gen Z protests in September, the Thapa-led camp had called for a special convention, a proposal rejected by the Deuba faction, which maintained that Deuba had been elected party president at the last convention. After the Deuba-led central committee scheduled a regular convention for mid-May, the Thapa group went ahead with the special convention to elect new leadership.

The move pushed the party’s internal crisis to its peak. As Tuesday marked the nomination filing day, attention was also focused on the Supreme Court, where any order overturning the EC’s decision could have thrown the election schedule into disarray. Under the new committee led by Thapa, tickets for the first-past-the-post system were decided by the party’s parliamentary board with Thapa’s signature. Elections are scheduled for March 5.