Trilok Pratap Rana, the former chief justice, passed away on Thursday. He was 81. Rana is remembered for voicing his dissent against 1995 Supreme Court ruling that had termed the decision of the then Prime Minister Man Mohan Adhikari to dissolve the parliament as unconstitutional.

 He along with the then Justices Om Bhakta Shrestha and Krishna Jung Rayamajhi had contested the decision of the then Chief Justice (CJ) Bishwo Nath Upadhyay, 

arguing that it was a prime minister’s prerogative to recommend the dissolution of parliament. 

Rana was also a part of the apex court bench that ruled ratification of Indo-Nepal Tanakpur treaty of 1992. The then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala had maintained that no treaty had been signed between India and Nepal over the construction of a dam at Tanakpur during his visit to New Delhi in 1992. But the bench headed by Upadhyaya had concluded that any decision taken “between the two prime ministers cannot be termed as a mere understanding,” and ruled that, as a bilateral treaty, it required ratification.  

Rana also headed the probe committee that looked into the death of the then CPN-UML General Secretary Madan Bhandari and party organisation chief Jib Raj Asrit in May 1993. He was made the committee chief after former king Birendra Shah had sought opinion from the Supreme Court on the matter. 

Rana started judicial service in June 1968 as zonal court judge. He entered the apex court in August 1980. He was also the last head of Department of Special Report—which was under the Royal Palace during the Panchayat period— where aggrieved parties under the could petition against court verdict including that of apex court. The department was scrapped following the restoration of democracy in 1990. 

Rana’s colleagues remember him as simple straightforward man who took a holistic approach in justice delivery. “He looked at every possible angle before delivering the justice,” said former CJ Om Bhakta Shrestha. Former apex court Justice Krishna Jung Rayamajhi remembers Rana as a man of conviction. “He put forth his views very clearly and was firm in it.”