The Constitutional Council (CC) on Thursday recommended Supreme Court Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana for the post of Chief Justice.

According to Dilli Malla, Press Co-ordinator to Speaker Krishna Bahadur Mahara, a meeting of the council held this morning unanimously recommended Justice Rana for the post.

Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, who had remained absent in the council’s latest scheduled meet yesterday, citing his busy schedule with his party’s Mahasamiti meeting, was also present during today’s meet.

Chief Justice nominee Rana will now have to face the Parliamentary Hearing Committee (PHC). The PHC will have to endorse Justice Rana's nomination before he will be at the helm of judiciary.

Also read: Constitutional Council likely to pick Rana as next chief justice

Earlier, the CC meeting had been deferred three times. The first meeting of council held on December 3 failed to name the new Chief Justice due to lack of enough time of its members for necessary discussions. Leaders said the council members had requested for more time to study the credentials of the nominees.

Likewise, the second meeting scheduled for December 8 was postponed for December 12, which was again postponed by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

The Judicial Council had sent the names of Justice Rana and Justice Deepak Raj Joshee to PM Oli-led Constitutional Council as the senior-most justices eligible for the top post of the Supreme Court.

The tenure of incumbent Supreme Court Chief Justice Om Prakash Mishra expires on January 1.