A writ petition challenging the appointment of CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli as prime minister was filed at the Supreme Court on Monday.

Advocates Deepak Adhikari, Khagendra Prasad Chapagain and Shailendra Kumar Gupta filed the petition at the apex court, seeking a mandamus order to annul the appointment and arguing that it is unconstitutional.

The petitioners have argued that the President should call for the formation of a new government under Article 76(3) if a government formed under Article 76(2) fails to secure a vote of confidence.

Article 76(2) states that in cases where no party has a clear majority in the House, the President shall appoint as the prime minister “a member of the House who can command a majority with the support of two or more parties.” As per Article 76(3), the President is allowed to appoint the parliamentary party leader of the largest party as the prime minister, who then has to seek a vote of confidence within 30 days.

The Office of the President, the Federal Parliament Secretariat, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and Prime Minister Oli, among others, have been named defendants in the petition.

Govinda Prasad Ghimire, information officer at the Supreme Court, said a preliminary hearing on the petition has been scheduled for July 21.

President Ramchandra Paudel on Sunday appointed Oli as the prime minister after he staked his claim for the post with the support of 166 lawmakers. The President had made a call as per Article 76(2) of the constitution after Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who was appointed as per the same article, failed the floor test.

Oli, along with his 21 Cabinet ministers, took an oath of office and secrecy on Monday.

This is Oli’s fourth stint as the country’s chief executive. First appointed the prime minister in October 2015 (until August 2016), Oli was head of the government from February 2018 to May 2021 and from May 2021 to July 2021.