Shorts

Nepal Appoints First Woman Chief Justice

Yesterday, the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee of Nepal unanimously nominated Sushila Karki as the country’s new Chief Justice, reported the Kathmandu Post. Karki had been working as the acting Chief Justice since April 2016, after the outgoing Justice Kalyan Shrestha retired. She has a reputation of being a fearless judge, with zero tolerance for corruption, and claims to have “solved” 8,765 cases as an ad-hoc Justice of the Supreme Court.

Karki’s appointment puts Nepal ahead of India, which has not had a woman in the position of the Chief Justice in 69 years. After her appointment, Nepal now has women at three crucial leadership positions – President (Bidya Devi Bhandari), Chief Justice (Sushila Karki) and Speaker of Parliament (Onsari Gharti).

Time for India to play catch-up?