Judiciary left reeling from Gen Z protest impact as case clearance almost halved
Summary
The Gen Z protests in September 2025 severely disrupted Nepal's judiciary, causing a sharp decline in case clearance to 55%, significant destruction of court infrastructure, and delays in judicial activities.
Key Points
- The Gen Z protests on September 8-9, 2025, caused Nepal's judiciary to operate under significant limitations, reducing the national case clearance rate to 55 percent in fiscal year 2025-2026.
- Out of 357,023 pending cases, only 196,474 were settled, leaving a backlog of 160,549 cases across all court levels.
- Protesters destroyed or burnt approximately 936,000 legal case files and documents, causing Rs2.8 billion in structural damage to 23 court premises, including the Supreme Court.
- Despite challenges, some judges like Tek Narayan Kunwar and Rajendra Singh Bhandari achieved high case settlement numbers, demonstrating resilience amid disruption.
