Records Burnt, Walls Fallen: Nepal’s Supreme Court Restarts In Tents After Gen Z Uprising

Nepal’s Supreme Court reopened on Monday under makeshift tents, days after a wave of Gen Z-led protests torched government buildings, destroyed thousands of case files, and left the nation’s justice system in turmoil.

The white tents, named Supreme Court Nepal, were built in the courtyard of the charred complex, where staff met petitioners and issued new hearing dates.

Piles of burnt motorcycles and cars still littered the grounds, a stark reminder of last week’s arson and vandalism.

The unrest, driven largely by self-styled Gen Z protesters, gutted much of Kathmandu’s administrative hub and led to the collapse of former PM KP Sharma Oli’s government.

The newly appointed premier, Sushila Karki, acknowledged that court records were obliterated and

pledged to rebuild the justice system “from scratch.”

According to senior advocate Purna Man Sakya, at least 26,000 active case files and more than 36,000 archived records were destroyed in the blaze. He warned that vital pieces of Nepal’s judicial history had been lost forever.

Chief Justice Prakashman Singh Raut condemned the violence, expressing sorrow over the damage to the country’s highest court but vowing continuity.

“We remain steadfast on the path of justice under all circumstances,” he said in a statement, promising to resume hearings as quickly as possible.

For now, the court remains largely unusable as Judges’ chambers, registrars’ offices, and courtrooms are unsafe to enter, with collapsed walls and scorched interiors.

Staff and advocates have been told to avoid the ruins for fear of further collapses.

Senior advocate Kedar Prasad Koirala, secretary general of the Nepal Bar Association, said urgent matters such as habeas corpus petitions will temporarily be heard in a surviving annex building.

“The court cannot stop functioning, especially after such unrest,” he said.

By mid-afternoon Sunday, at least 148 litigants had checked in with court staff, collecting new dates and instructions.

Lawyers have also agreed to help the judiciary reconstruct files by submitting photocopies of their case documents.

Despite the destruction, court staff have already begun registering complaints under the tents, focusing on illegal detentions linked to the protests. “There will be many such cases,” Sakya noted, “but justice must continue, even in tents.”

The Supreme Court was among several government buildings torched on September 9, when Gen Z-led agitators stormed Kathmandu’s administrative quarter, looting and burning offices inside the Singha Durbar complex, which houses the prime minister’s office and ministries.