KATHMANDU — The Supreme Court of Nepal has issued an interim order directing the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation to immediately suspend the ongoing selection and appointment process for the Board of Directors at Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC).

The legal intervention comes in response to a writ petition filed in court challenging the transparency and legality of the recent board recruitment process driven by the ministry.

Key Details of the Controversy

  • Allegations of Manipulation: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, under Tourism Minister Badri Poudel, had initiated an open-competition framework to fill five board vacancies from a pool of 27 competitive applicants. However, a formal complaint filed with the Prime Minister’s Office alleges that the final selections disregarded the technical merit and evaluation scores of the candidates, heavily favouring political manoeuvring and arbitrary decision-making.
  • The Marking Criteria: Under the Nepal Airlines Corporation Act and its associated regulations, the evaluation is legally mandated to follow a strict point structure:
    • Educational Qualifications: 4 Marks
    • Professional Experience: 4 Marks
    • Business Action Plans: 15 Marks
    • Presentations: 15 Marks
    • Interview: 10 Marks

petitioners argue that candidates who performed poorly during the action plan and presentation phases were unfairly appointed due to backroom manipulation.

  • The Ministry's Defence: In contrast to the allegations, Ministry Spokesperson Jaynarayan Acharya maintained that the appointments were entirely procedural, transparent, and merit-based. The ministry argued that while the tourism minister possesses the legal authority to directly appoint board members without an open competition, they voluntarily adopted an open framework evaluated confidentially by an independent expert panel to restore corporate governance at the struggling national flag carrier.

The Court's Ruling

Recognizing the gravity of the breach of fair competition allegations, the Supreme Court issued the interim stay order to freeze all appointment steps. The apex court has also issued a show-cause notice to the Tourism Ministry, demanding a transparent, step-by-step breakdown of the evaluation results and scorecards before the appointments can legally proceed.

This ruling place the governance of Nepal Airlines into another transitional standstill, mirroring a separate Supreme Court freeze placed earlier this year on the selection process of the corporation's General Manager due to violations of statutory eligibility and the election code of conduct.