Former Inspector General of Police Dan Bahadur Karki has gone to the Supreme Court to challenge the Cabinet’s decision to remove him from the police chief’s post.
His lawyer, advocate Tika Bahadur Kunwar, submitted a writ petition on Thursday seeking to reverse the November 4 decision and restore him to office.
The petition is undergoing administrative scrutiny and has not been formally registered.
The decision
On November 4, the Council of Ministers removed Karki as IGP and assigned him as special security adviser to Prime Minister Balendra Shah, a newly created post at a rank equivalent to IGP. The Cabinet promoted Additional Inspector General Dr Manoj Kumar KC to IGP under Rule 41 of the Nepal Police Regulations, 2071.
Home Minister Sudhan Gurung conferred the insignia on KC, who took command of Nepal Police.
Government spokesperson Sasmit Pokharel described Karki’s move as a change of responsibility, not punishment. The government has not publicly given detailed reasons.
Karki became the 33rd IGP in November 2025, after joining the police as an inspector on March 31, 1998. He had about 17 months before reaching 30 years of service, around March 2028.
The legal question
Rule 127 of the Police Regulations sets retirement limits for an IGP of four years in the post, age 58 or 30 years of service. Karki had reached none of them. His representatives are expected to argue that removing a serving police chief without valid grounds violates the Police Act and Regulations.
The government can rely on Section 9 of the Police Act, under which gazetted police officers hold office during the government’s pleasure and the government appoints, promotes and removes them. Section 10 requires, in specified cases of dismissal, removal or demotion, a reasonable opportunity to explain. The court may have to decide whether assigning Karki to a new advisory post was an administrative transfer or an effective removal.
Precedents
In 1997, Home Minister Bamdev Gautam replaced IGP Achyut Krishna Kharel after 36 days and moved him to head the National Investigation Department. Kharel challenged it in the Supreme Court. The court’s ruling held that the appointment of an IGP rests on professional qualifications, and that replacing an incumbent requires rational, reasoned grounds. Kharel had been reinstated in December 1997 after a change of government.
In December 2025, the Supreme Court annulled the transfer of Nepal Electricity Authority executive director Hitendra Dev Shakya to a newly created post, finding the proposal appeared retaliatory and procedures had not been followed.
Background to the removal
Sources close to the Prime Minister’s Office said Karki was reluctant to act at once on instructions to arrest certain people. A senior police official said some instructions lacked legal grounds.
The removal followed the October 30 detention of journalists, including Nepal Press’s Bishwamani Subedi, over a report that the government planned to remove Karki. The Prime Minister’s Office denied that the prime minister took a direct interest in the police action.
The new IGP
KC, the 34th IGP, was formerly head of the Crime Investigation Department. He gained prominence leading the investigation into the fake Bhutanese refugee scam. His promotion bypassed Rajan Adhikari, who had ranked second in seniority when Karki was appointed in 2025.
