In late October 2021, in an unprecedented turn of events, the Nepal Bar Association (NBA) – an umbrella body representing nearly 20,000 lawyers in the country – along with retired justices of the Supreme Court and many senior advocates, publicly demanded that the current Chief Justice (CJ) Cholendra Shumsher Rana resign from his position. This occurred soon after the newly formed government led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, appointed Gajendra Bahadur Hamal, Rana's brother-in-law, as a minister. This decision was allegedly on the request of the Chief Justice himself, which if true would be a blatant – potentially impeachable – disregard of the principles of separation of power and maintaining an independent judiciary.
More dramatically, 14 of the 20 office-holding Supreme Court justices too demanded Rana's resignation and boycotted full court meetings called by him, indicating a deep fissure at the very top of the country's judiciary. Remaining justices of the Supreme Court have also joined the campaign, refusing to hear cases for three weeks apart from habeas corpus petitions, and demanded judicial reforms, echoing a larger demand shared by many in the country. The NBA had also requested parties in the parliament to introduce an impeachment motion.