A writ petition has been filed at the Supreme Court against the appointment of the chief minister in Madhesh Province, terming the move as unconstitutional.

Advocate Rakki Prasad Sah lodged the petition on Monday, naming the Office of the Province Head and the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers of the province as defendants. The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday.

Petitioner Sah said that Article 168(2) of the constitution was still applicable when the new appointment was made. He argued that the Province Head Sumitra Subedi Bhandari should have first invited parties to form a coalition government under this provision rather than invoking Article 168(3).

However, Bhandari appointed the UML parliamentary party leader in the province Saroj Kumar Yadav as per the 168(3) as the leader of the largest party in the assembly. Other parties objected to her move to skip the provision of forming a coalition government as per the Article 168(2).

The petition also seeks an interim order to maintain the status quo until the case is resolved.

The controversy began after Province Head Bhandari appointed CPN-UML parliamentary party leader Saroj Kumar Yadav as the new chief minister under Article 168(3) and administered the oath of office at a hotel in Bardibas early in the morning on Monday.

The decision sparked widespread protests from seven political parties—including the Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Centre), Unified Socialist, Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, Janamat Party, Janata Samajbadi Party, and Nagarik Unmukti Party—who claimed that the appointment disregarded the constitutional process.

Cadres of the agitating political parties staged demonstrations outside the Office of the Province Head in Janakpurdham, chanting slogans against the province head and demanding her resignation, accusing her of acting against federalism and democratic norms.

The protesters also resorted to vandalism outside the office of the province head.