Nepal Supreme Court removes Nepal Airlines Chairman

The Supreme Court of Nepal has removed Maheshwor Bhakta Shrestha from his position as executive chairman of the Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC). A division bench of Justices Sunil Kumar Pokharel and Balkrishna Dhakal ruled that the government’s appointment of Shrestha failed to comply with established legal procedures for appointing heads of public bodies.

The dispute primarily concerned Shrestha’s age. According to 2017 standards from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, executive chiefs of public bodies must be between 30 and 65 years old. The ruling followed a writ petition by Upendra Bahadur Karki, who argued that Shrestha had exceeded the age limit.

While the court invalidated Shrestha’s role as executive chairman and general manager, it rejected Karki’s request to be appointed to the position himself. Shrestha will remain a member of the NAC board, and the government must initiate a new process to fill the executive chairmanship.