KATHMANDU: At 73, Sushila Karki, Nepal’s first woman chief justice, has found herself at the centre of the country’s political turbulence. Widely respected for her uncompromising stand against corruption during her tenure on the bench, Karki is now being seen by many demonstrators as the ideal figure to steer an interim administration amid mass protests.
Her selection has drawn regional parallels. Observers have likened the moment to Bangladesh’s appointment of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as interim leader after a student-led movement toppled Sheikh Hasina last year.Born in 1952 in a farming household in eastern Nepal, Karki was the eldest of seven siblings. Her family shared close ties with Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala, Nepal’s first democratically elected prime minister. She pursued higher studies in India, completing a master’s degree in political science at Banaras Hindu University in 1975 before earning her law degree at Tribhuvan University three years later. While in Varanasi, she met Durga Prasad Subedi, then a rising youth leader of the Nepali Congress. Subedi’s political life became etched in history in 1973 when he participated in the dramatic hijacking of a Nepal Airlines flight carrying state funds. The aircraft was diverted to Forbesganj in Bihar, India, where cash was offloaded and handed to Girija Prasad Koirala, who later served as Nepal’s prime minister. The money reportedly financed the party’s underground struggle against the monarchy. Subedi and others were jailed in India before returning to Nepal ahead of the 1980 referendum. Onboard at the time was Hindi film actress Mala Sinha.
Karki, meanwhile, charted her course in law. Beginning legal practice in Biratnagar in 1979, she later taught at Mahendra Multiple Campus in Dharan. Her judicial career took off in 2009 when she became a temporary judge of Nepal’s Supreme Court, gaining permanent appointment a year later. By July 2016, she rose to the top as chief justice.
Her tenure was marked by high-profile corruption rulings, including the conviction of Information and Communications Minister Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta. In 2017, an impeachment motion brought by ruling lawmakers attempted to unseat her, triggering nationwide outrage. The move collapsed within weeks, and Karki resumed her duties until her retirement that June. Today, as Nepal navigates political unrest, her reputation for integrity continues to shape public debate. Protesters demanding accountability have rallied behind her, seeing in her judicial record a potential path to transition.