Nepal, May 14 -- That the Balendra Shah-led Constitutional Council would break with the traditional seniority rule in the selection of the chief justice was not an entirely expected development. The six-member council, through a majority vote, picked Justice Manoj Kumar Sharma, fourth in seniority, over acting Chief Justice Sapana Pradhan Malla, the senior-most justice at the top court. National Assembly Chair Narayan Dahal, who has a background in the then CPN (Maoist Centre), and opposition leader Bhisma Raj Angdembe, the Nepali Congress parliamentary party leader, objected, but they were in the minority.

There are no constitutional or legal barriers to choosing Sharma over Malla and other senior justices-Kumar Regmi and Hari Prasad Ph...