The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued an interim order saying CPN-UML lawmakers Som Prasad Pande and Sharada Devi Bhatta can join the CPN (Unified Socialist), a splinter of the largest party in the federal parliament.

CPN-UML lawmaker of the House of Representatives Pande and National Assembly member Bhatta had filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court demanding that they should be allowed to join the newly-formed Madhav Nepal-led party. The Election Commission had earlier rejected their request because their names were not on the list of lawmakers presented by Nepal when he applied for the new party on August 20.

A division bench of justices Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada and Nahakul Subedi issued the order asking the Election Commission not to take any action that would affect their rights to choose CPN (Unified Socialist). The two had applied at the commission for the new party’s membership just a day before the commission authenticated the lawmakers and Central Committee members of the party.

“An interim order has been issued in the name of the defendant not to take any measures affecting the right of the petitioners to choose the CPN (Unified Socialist),” states the Supreme Court order.

With the order of the apex court, the largest party and main opposition UML is set to lose one lawmaker each in the lower and the upper house.

The CPN-UML will be reduced to 97 lawmakers and 25 members in the lower and the upper house, respectively. Likewise the CPN (Unified Socialist) is set to become the third largest party in the upper house with eight members. The UML has 25, CPN (Maoist Centre) 15 and the Nepali Congress has seven members in the upper house.