The Parliamentary Hearing Committee on Wednesday endorsed six nominees for Supreme Court justices.

The meeting of the joint committee of the House of Representatives and National Assembly endorsed Saranga Subedi, Abdul Aziz Musalman, Mahesh Sharma Paudyal, Tek Prasad Dhungana, Sunil Pokharel and Bal Krishna Dhakal, all of whom were recommended by the Judicial Council, said Lilanath Shrestha, a member of the House committee.

Subedi, Musalman, Paudyal, and Dhungana are High Court judges. Pokharel and Dhakal are advocates. Pokharel is a former secretary general of the Nepal Bar Association while Dhakal also served as the secretary for the Supreme Court Bar Association.

President Ramchandra Paudel later in the day appointed them as per Article 129(2) of the constitution.

Although the committee had completed the hearing of the nominees on Monday, the decision on their approval was yet to be made.

On November 20, a meeting of the Judicial Council had recommended the six individuals for the post of Supreme Court justices.

Currently, there are seven vacant positions of judges in the 21-strong apex court.

For over two years, the court never had all the positions filled with some positions being left vacant for over two years now. Among the existing 14 justices, Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada will retire in March after reaching the age of 65.

Only two justices have been added to the top court since March last year. Binod Sharma, a high court judge, has been promoted to the Supreme Court.