The Constitutional Council has recommended the senior most justice at the Supreme Court Prakash Man Singh Raut for the position of Chief Justice. The council meeting held on Monday evening picked Singh for the top post of the judiciary.

The Judicial Council had previously submitted a list of eight eligible judges including Singh for the post of Chief Justice to the Constitutional Council.

The Judicial Council had recommended the following candidates for Chief Justice: Prakash Man Singh Raut, Sapana Pradhan Malla, Prakash Kumar Dhungana, Kumar Regmi, Hari Prasad Phuyal, Manoj Sharma, Kumar Chudal, and Nahakul Subedi.

Incumbent Chief Justice Bishowambhar Prasad Shrestha is retiring on October 5 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65.

An earlier meeting of the council held on Saturday for the same purpose had been inconclusive as more time was requested to study about the proposed candidates.

The Constitutional Council, which is headed by the prime minister, recommends candidates for chiefs and members of constitutional bodies and chief justice. The President will appoint the candidate after the parliamentary hearing committee endorses him for the position.

Raut, who was appointed as a Supreme Court Justice on August 1, 2016, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from Nepal Law Campus, Tribhuvan University. According to the Supreme Court record, he worked as an advocate and senior advocate in the top court from 1983 to 2016. His expertise as an advocate and senior advocate was especially in civil, criminal, constitutional cases and writs, the record states. In 2006, he became the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association.