Kathmandu: The long-awaited Supreme Court hearing regarding the case filed by Hitendradev Shakya against Kulman Ghising’s appointment as the Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has been postponed once again.
Shakya’s petition, which seeks the cancellation of Ghising’s appointment, was scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday. However, the hearing has been delayed yet again, extending Shakya’s wait for resolution.
Shakya, who has been awaiting justice for three years, publicly criticized the court’s delays. Since March 15, 2022, hearings on the case have been rescheduled multiple times.
Sources indicate that various vested interest groups had been actively lobbying for a decision on the case during Wednesday’s session. Recent controversies surrounding Ghising, particularly his decision to disconnect electricity supplies to certain industries over unpaid dues, have intensified the scrutiny on him. Ghising faced political pressure to resume power supply after disconnecting services to industries that had not settled their payments for dedicated and trunk line electricity during load-shedding periods.
The dispute became more pronounced after Ghising advanced efforts to collect Rs 7.5 billion in arrears. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli intervened by instructing Ghising to restore power supplies to affected industries and reportedly suggested to Chief Justice Bishwambhar Shrestha to expedite the court’s judgment on the matter.