Nepal Idol


Nepal Idol is a Nepalese reality television singing competition that is part of the Idols franchise created and owned by FremantleMedia. Nepal Idol 2017 was the first season of Idol franchise in Nepal which aired on AP1 TV.
In the first season, auditions were held at seven cities; Nepalgunj, Butwal, Narayangarh, Birgunj, Biratnagar, Pokhara and Kathmandu. Contestants aged 16 to 30 years are allowed to participate. The first ever season of the show was won by Buddha Lama from Pokhara, Nepal in which a total of 93,100,000 votes were cast for the grand finale. The second season of Nepal Idol was won by Ravi Oad from Dhangadi. And, the third season of Nepal Idol was won by Sajja Chaulagain from Morang. According to organizers, more than 125,000 people watched the Grand Finale Event live on YouTube, which was a record for any Nepalese television show watched online. Nepal Idol is produced by AP1 TV for Annapurna Media Network.
In the finale event of season 3, the announcement of winner was affected due to a COVID-19 positive case from one of the production team members, which led to the finale program being withheld and announcement of the winner by digital method.
For Season 4, all past three judges got replaced by new judges, namely, Sambhujeet Baskota, Sugam Pokharel and Subani Moktan. Bhupendra Thapa Magar was winner of season 4.
For season 5, all judges of season 4 got replaced by Nhyoo Bajracharya, Indira Joshi and Kali Prasad Baskota; who returned to the show again. Karan Pariyar won the fifth season.
The sixth season was announced by AP1 TV by releasing promotional content on its social handles in January 2025, followed by a press conference on 6 March 2025.

Format

Nepal Idol also follows the format provided by FremantleMedia from Idol Bible and followed by other versions of Idol Series.

Hosts

As per the format, there is at least one or two hosts both of them being of same gender or opposite gender. Nepal Idol was hosted by television actor and model Sushil Nepal and actress, model, VJ and television journalist Reema Bishwokarma. After announcement of season 2 Sushil Nepal was replaced by versatile and talented media personality Asif Shah who is also television producer, music video and tvc director, singer and actor from famous Nepali movie, 'Dui Rupiyan'. For season 3, new host Mampi Ghosh replaced Reema Bishwokarma who moved to Comedy Champions. In 2019, Asif Shah and Mampi Ghosh, previously known as Pawankali, hosted the third season. Similarly, Mampi Ghosh got replaced by Reshma Ghimire in Season 4. Reema Bishwokarma returned once again in Season 5.

Judges

A preselected panel of music industry representatives are given to judge the contestants in prejudge round which is not televised. Actual panel of judges of three or five judge the contestants from Televised Audition to Grand Finale.

Season 1–3

In season one, two and three the judges were Nhyoo Bajracharya, Indira Joshi and Kali Prasad Baskota. Bajracharya is a music composer and singer. He has composed dozens of famous songs in Nepali, Nepal bhasa and Hindi. His popular compositions include "Ful ko aakhaa ma fulai sanasar" with Ani Choying Drolma with his fusion style music. Indira Joshi is a singer, model, and actress. She released the song "'Rato Ghanghara" from her album Dance with Me. She has also sung the item number "Udhreko choli" from the movie Loot. She had already been among top 5 contestants in the first season of Nepali singing reality show Nepali Tara. Kali Prasad Baskota is a singer, musician, writer, and lyricist. His initial hits were the songs like "Chahana Sakiyo" and "Lappan Chappan". Kali had done his singing debut from song "Jaalma" from movie Resham Filili which was one of the biggest hit of that time. His other popular compositions includes "Thamel Baazar" from the movie Loot 2 and "Nira" from Purano Dunga movie. All three judges were replaced in Season 4 as they moved for other reality show, Saregamapa Lil Champs.

Season 4

All three judges from last three seasons were replaced by Sambhujeet Baskota, Subani Moktan and Sugam Pokharel. Sambhujeet Baskota is a Nepali music composer who is considered to be the most popular and prolific music director of the Nepali Film Industry. He has composed over 3,000 songs, which have appeared in more than 250 films. He has composed songs for many Nepali hit films like Prem Pinda, Karodpati, Thuldai etc. Similarly, Sugam Pokharel is a Nepali popular pop singer, songwriter, RJ and music composer who is working in the Nepali music industry since 1995. In recent years, he has been also known as a popular playback singer. He became popular as a playback singer for the song Ke yo Maya ho from the movie Mero Auta Sathi Chha. Most of the Nepali people remember him for the festival song Dashain Tihar. He has given many other hit songs such as Mero Auta Sathi Chha, Mero Sansar, K yo Maya ho, Feri tyo din, etc. Likewise, Subani Moktan is a singer/songwriter and also a music arranger. Besides her own independent music, she also works as a playback singer for movies and a teacher at Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory.

Season 5–present

The three old judges Nhyoo Bajracharya, Indira Joshi and Kali Prasad Baskota returned to Nepal Idol Season 5 after a break of a season.

Performance stages

  • Auditions are held in numerous places in any particular region or country that give most people the chance to sing in front of musical/television producers and if successful, they advance to a recorded televised audition where the show "judges" advance up to 300 people in some countries to the next round.
  • The Theatre round is where a specially selected group of auditioners from all regional auditions converge to perform in three sub stages: a chorus line in groups of 10 where free song choices are allowed, a trio where contestants must memorize a preselected song to perform and choreograph together, and finally a solo a cappella round where contestants sing a song of their own choice without musical backing in front of friends, family, judges & fellow contestants. Each stage of the theatre round, a number of contestants are eliminated and sent home by the judges, very few contestants brought back during the Wildcards show.
  • Piano Round: After theatre, top 18 or top 20 contestants are selected. They are divided into 8 or 10 within themselves and 3 or 4 are eliminated from the round. Eliminated contestants are brought back during wildcard shows.
  • Gala Round: The gala occurs usually pre-recorded where contestants sing in a television studio fully televised; again judges give critiques but beginning at this stage, home viewers vote via telephone and SMS who they want to stay in the competition. The contestants are judged by 50% audience vote and 50% judges marking. Gala usually consists of 12 contestants where they perform individually or in a group semi-final contestants sing every week until all finalists have been chosen. Wildcards episode is also featured. Judges can use veto power of no elimination for only one time.
  • Grand Finale: The Grand Finale occurs when there are three contestants left in the competition. This is the pinnacle of the entire series and often highest-rated show; also for some countries, it is venued in a prestigious location. There are usually group performances and/or special musical guests. Also, it has the best moments of the series which leads up to the announcement of the winner, which is determined by the highest number of votes. When that happens, he or she will perform an encore of the coronation single which sometimes includes pyrotechnics/fireworks. In every round, the set is often changed.

    Season summary

Nepal Idol Junior

Season 1

The Project Head of the first-ever franchise singing reality show was Suresh Poudel. He is veteran in Nepali media with the background of working in popular media house in leading position for more than 25 years. The show was directed by Laxman Paudyal. Asst. directors are Manoj K.C. Samaya, Surace Dulal AKA, Mohan Raj Adhikari. Chief Asst. director is Aleen Shrestha. Buddha Lama was the winner of the first season who also happened to be the youngest contestant to be selected.

Audition

  • The dates in bold are written in Vikram Samvat.

    Top 18 Performers

Elimination Chart

It was officially announced in early 2018 that Nepal Idol will be back for another season. Season 2 auditions started from March 20 in Bhairahawa. The other announced locations were Dhangadhi, Hetauda, Dharan, Pokhara along with Kathmandu. After the auditions were concluded, the show aired from August 7. The directors for season 2 are Suresh Paudel, Aleen Shrestha and Lokesh Bajracharya. Aleen Shrestha is also the Director of Nepal's first-ever franchise dance reality show Boogie Woogie Nepal. Whereas, Lokesh Bajracharya is a well known name in visual-editing field in Nepal. The show was hosted by Asif Shah and Reema Bishwokarma. The assistant directors are Mohan Raj Adhikari and Babu Surace D.C.. Director Of Photography is Shiva Ram Shrestha.

Audition

The audition for the Second season of Nepal Idol were held on:
LocationDateVenue
Bhairahawa, Lumbini Province6th Chaitra 2074Jaycees Kindergarten High School
Dharan, Province No. 18th Chaitra 2074 Bishnu Memorial Higher Secondary School.
Dhangadhi, Sudurpashchim Province11th Chaitra 2074 Sudur Paschimanchal Academy
Birgunj, Province No. 21 Bhaisahak 2075Shree Adarsha HS School, Birgunj
Hetauda, Bagmati Province3rd Baisakh 2075 Siddhartha Secondary School, Hetauda 2
Pokhara, Gandaki Province14 Baishak 2075Shree Janapriya Secondary School, Pokhara
Kathmandu, Bagmati Province18 & 19 Baishak 2075NK Singh Memorial EPS School

  • The dates in bold are written in Vikram Samvat.

    Episodes

  • Episodes are entitled according to rounds.

    Elimination Chart

RankContestantAgeDate09/0709/2109/2810/0510/1210/1910/2611/0211/0911/1611/2311/3012/0712/21
RankContestantAgeHometownTheatre Round

Piano Round

Top 12

Top 11

Top 10

Wild Card Entry

Top 10

Top 9

No Elimination

Top 8

Top 7

Top 6

Top 5

Grand Finale

1Ravi Oad20DhangadiVP VWinner
2Bikram Baral25Pokhara****XP VP XP X1st Runner Up
3Sumit Pathak19Jhapa****P VXVXP V2nd Runner Up
4Ashmita Adhikari22JhapaXXPXP3rd Runner Up
5Amit Baral24ButwalXPXP X
6Pawan Giri22DolakhaPXVP VXX
7Nilima Thapa20Pokhara****P
8Krishal Kandel17DhadingX
9Subin Singh27Surkhet
10Jeshmi Limbu19ItahariAdvanced to Top 10
10Minraj Poudel26Chitwan****X
11Heena Malla Baraili17DharanX
12Ramita Sharma22Kathmandu
13-20Bishwas Upreti23JhapaParticipant
13-20Dipraj Khatri21Makwanpur
13-20Milan Pariyar20MorangParticipant
13-20Rajendra Ale26LalitpurParticipant
13-20Samrat Neupane22Dang
13-20Shrijana Karki19Morang
13-20Suman Pariyar18Pokhara
13-20Swastika Dhakal21Hetauda
21-30Ravi Sharma25BiratnagarParticipant
21-30Samikchya Dahal20KathmanduParticipant

Guest appearance

Nepal Idol Season 3 was officially announced on July 13 by AP1 TV by uploading its promotional video on YouTube.
The directors for season 3 were Suresh Paudel, Aleen Shrestha and Lokesh Bajracharya. The show was hosted by Aasif Shah and Mampi Ghosh, as the previous host Reema left the show and moved to another reality show called Comedy Champion. The associate director was Babu Surace D.C. and the Director Of Photography was Shiva Ram Shrestha. The Reality producer was Bishal Aryal and production manager was Manish Banjara.

Auditions

The audition for the Third season of Nepal Idol was held on:
LocationDateVenue
Pokhara, Gandaki Province31st Bhadra 2076Janapriya Secondary School, Pokhara
Butwal, Lumbini Province3rd Ashoj 2076 Lumbini Boarding School, Butwal
Nepalgunj, Lumbini Province 6th Ashoj 2076 Brightland College, Nepalgunj
Birgunj, Province No. 213th Ashoj 2076Birgunj Institute of Technology, Brigunj
Birtamod, Province No. 114th Ashoj 2076 Devi Secondary School, Birtamod
Kathmandu, Bagmati Province6th Kartik 2076 E.P.S. School, Minbhawan, Kathmandu

  • The dates in bold are written in Vikram Samvat.

    Digital auditions

For the first time ever, the organizer announced Digital Auditions in which, participants can record a video and upload it into Respect & Rise App for audition purpose. Selected candidates from Digital Auditions were called to Kathmandu for the Studio Rounds.

Airing Date

Official Page of Nepal Idol announced that Season 3 will be airing from 19 December 2019. This time there is a slight change in the format of the show. Host for season 2 Reema Bishwokarma was replaced by Mampi Ghosh as she moved to Nepal's first comedy reality show, 'Comedy Champions'.

Format

For this season tagline of the show is 'संगीतको शिखर' so the format has been designed so that contestants participating are climbing mountain.

Episodes

After airing wildcard special episode, due to fear of COVID-19 virus outbreak production and airing of Nepal Idol was postponed for 139 days. Nepal Idol resumed from August 6, 2020.
Episode NoDateRoundDescription
012019 December 19Open AuditionThe first episode featured Kathmandu Audition.
022019 December 20Open AuditionThe second episode featured Butwal Audition.
032019 December 26Open AuditionThe third episode featured Nepalgunj Audition.
042019 December 27Open AuditionThe fourth episode featured Birgunj Audition.
052020 January 2Open AuditionThe fifth episode featured Birtamod Audition.
062020 January 3Open AuditionThe sixth episode featured Pokhara Audition.
072020 January 9Base Camp Top 30 were selected among the contestants who were selected through audition and digital auditions. Out of 30, 15 contestants performed.
082020 January 10Base Camp 15 leftover contestants performed. Out of 30 contestants, 17 including Golden Mike Holder were selected for Camp - IV
092020 January 16Camp 4 Top 17 Contestants performed
102020 January 17Camp 4 Top 17 Contestants performed, 5 contestants eliminated.
112020 January 23Gala Round 1Top 12 contestants performed.
122020 January 24Gala Round 2Top 12 contestants performed.
132020 January 30Gala Round 3 Elimination 1Top 12 contestants performed in duo.
142020 January 31Gala Round 4Top 11 contestants performed.
152020 February 6Gala Round 5 Elimination 2Top 11 contestants performed in duo.
162020 February 7Gala Round 6Top 10 contestants performed.
172020 February 13Gala Round 7 Elimination 3Top 10 contestants performed on Valentine's Special.
182020 February 14Gala Round 8Top 9 contestants performed.
192020 February 20Gala Round 9 Elimination 4Top 9 contestants performed in duo.
202020 February 21Gala Round 10Top 8 contestants performed.
212020 February 27Gala Round 11 Elimination 5Top 8 contestants performed with last season's contestants.
222020 February 28Gala Round 12Top 7 contestants performed.
232020 March 5Gala Round 13 Elimination 6Top 7 contestants performed.
242020 March 6Gala Round 14 Lok Geet SpecialTop 6 contestants performed in Lok Bhaka.
252020 March 12Gala Round 15 Elimination 7 Idol's Idol SpecialTop 6 contestants performed with their own singing idol.
262020 March 13Gala Round 16Top 5 contestants performed.
272020 March 19Gala Round 17 Elimination 8Top 5 contestants performed.
282020 March 20Wildcard Entry5 Contestant performed to compete for wildcard entry
292020 August 6Wildcard ResultsKiran K Bhujel re-entered show as wildcard contestant.
302020 August 7Gala Round 18Top 5 performed.
312020 August 13Gala Round 19 Elimination 9Neshon Pun Magar Eliminated
322020 August 14Gala Round 20Top 4 performed
332020 August 21Gala Round 21 Elimination 10Kevin Glan Tamang Eliminated
342020 August 22Gala Round 22 SEMI FINALFinale Performance form Top 3
352020 August 27Season PreviewJourney of Top 3
362020 August 28GRAND FINALEWinner: Sajja Chajlagain
1st Runner Up: Pravin Bedwal
2nd Runner Up: Kiran Kumar Bhujel

Special Episodes

Elimination Chart

Guest appearance

  • Najjir Husain
  • James Pradhan
  • Milan Newar
  • Herchulus Basnet
  • Kunti Moktan
  • Shila Bahadur Moktan
  • Basanta Sapkota
  • Uday Sotang
  • Malina Sotang
  • Abahya Subba
  • Karna Das
  • Devika Bandana
  • Buddha Lama
  • Nishan Bhattarai
  • Pratap Das
  • Ravi Oad
  • Bikram Baral
  • Sumit Pathak
  • Asmita Adhikari
  • Amit Baral
  • Pawan Giri
  • Mukti Shakya
  • Anushka Shrestha
  • Rose Lama
  • Meera Rana
  • Swopnil Sharma
  • Manish Dhakal
  • Dharmendra Shewan
  • Samriddhi Rai
  • Rohit Jung Chettri
  • Mahesh Kafle
  • Meena Niroula
  • Prakash Sayami
  • Biplap Pratik

    Golden Microphone Winner

  • Megha Shrestha

    Season 4

confirmed season 4 by publishing promo released on July 21, 2021. Since judges from last 3 season were hired by another reality show SaReGaMaPa Lil'l Champs Nepal, Nepal Idol have new faces for this season. Digital Audition was started from August 17. The directors for season 4 were Suresh Paudel,. The show was hosted by Aasif Shah and Reshma Ghimire. The assistant director was Mohan Raj Adhikari.

List of New Judges and Hosts

organized Press Meet on August 20, 2021, in its office to announce new judges and host for Nepal Idol Season 4. Following are new judges for Nepal Idol.
SNNameTitlesKnown For
1Sambhujeet BaskotaJudgeSambhujeet Baskota is a Nepali music composer. He is considered to be the most popular and prolific music director of the Nepali Film Industry. He has composed over 3,000 songs that have appeared in more than 250 films.
2Sugam PokharelJudgeSugam Pokharel is a Nepalese pop singer, music composer, songwriter and radio jockey. His first solo recording, Mero Sansaar, became a top seller in Nepal.
3Subani MoktanJudgeSubani Moktan is a singer, songwriter and music arranger. She also works as a playback singer for movies. She is a teacher at Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory. She is daughter of Kunti Moktan, a popular singer.
4Asif ShahHostAsif Shah is a Nepali presenter, actor, director, producer and singer who has host Nepal Idol Season 2 and 3 earlier too.
5Reshma GhimireHostReshma Ghimire is a Nepali model, and actress who was first-ever verified Nepali TikTok User. She is known for playing Nepali music videos. She is one of the most loved and followed TikTok and Instagram celebrity in Nepal and also a winner of Miss Purbeli 2014.

Digital Audition

Due to COVID-19 and no permissions granted for physical audition, the production company announced Digital Auditions starting from August 17 for a month through APON App, an OTT platform developed by Annapurna Media Network.

Physical Audition

Few of the selected participants from digital auditions will be called for physical audition in various cities which includes Biratnagar, Nepalgunj, Pokhara and Kathmandu.
Date Date ProvinceCities
26 Sept 202110 Ashoj 2078Province No. 1Biratnagar
2 Oct 202116 Ashoj 2078Lumbini ProvinceNepalgunj
7 Oct 202121 Ashoj
2078		Gandaki ProvincePokhara
9 & 10 Nov 202123 & 24 Kartik 2078Bagmati ProvinceKathmandu

Broadcast Date

announced on air date by publishing promo video. Fourth season of show starts from December 9.

Theatre Round

Selected participants from Physical Audition would be kept in closed camp and Theatre Rounds will be conducted.

List of Episodes

Elimination Chart

Golden Microphone Winners

The fifth season of Nepal Idol was confirmed by AP1TV by publishing announcement video in its digital platform. The show was directed by suresh Paudyal.Chief Asst. director is Mohan Raj Adhikari and Asst. director is Nimesh Rajbag.This time there shall be auditions in 8 cities of Nepal starting from Birtamod, Jhapa and ending in Kathmandu. The auditions will be held on:
  • Birtamod
  • Bardibas
  • Hetauda
  • Attariya
  • Surkhet
  • Dang
  • Pokhara
  • Kathmandu
The season will be premiered on March 8, 2024 as confirmed by organizers. Prabhu Pay has partnered Nepal Idol Season 5 as Digital Voting Partner and Vivo Nepal partnered with Nepal Idol as a title sponsor. Likewise, Redbull Nepal as Energized By partner.

Judges

In Season 5 past judges Kali Prasad Baskota, Nhyoo Bajracharya and Indira Joshi returned to Nepal Idol once again. Also Reema Bishwakarama was back as a host once again along with Asif Shah. This was announced through promo video published by AP1 TV.

List of Episodes

There shall be total of 32 episodes, eight episodes showing Open Audition, two Theater Round episodes, Four Piano round episodes and remaining Gala Rounds including Wild Card and Grand Finale. The runtime of this season would be 120 minutes per episodes.
Episode NoAir DateRoundEpisode Title
12024 March 8Open AuditionBirtamod Audition
22024 March 9Open AuditionBardibas & Hetauda Audition
32024 March 15Open AuditionAttariya Audition
42024 March 16Open AuditionSurkhet & Dang Audition
52024 March 22Open AuditionPokhara Audition
62024 March 23Open AuditionKathmandu Audition
72024 March 29Theatre RoundTheatre Round 1
82024 March 30Theatre RoundTheatre Round 2
92024 April 5Piano RoundPiano Round 1
102024 April 6Piano RoundPiano Round 2
112024 April 12Gala RoundTop 16 Performance
122024 April 13Gala RoundTop 16 Performance
132024 April 19Gala RoundTop 16 Elmination
142024 April 20Gala RoundTop 14 Duet Performance
152024 April 26Gala RoundTop 14 Elimination
162024 April 27Gala RoundTop 12 Performance
172024 May 3Gala RoundTop 12 Elimination
182024 May 4Gala RoundTop 10 Performance
192024 May 10Gala RoundTop 10 Elimination
202024 May 11Gala RoundTop 9 Performance
212024 May 17Gala RoundTop 9 Narayan Gopal Special
222024 May 18Gala RoundTop 8 Film Special
232024 May 24Gala RoundTop 8 Idol Reunion
242024 May 25Gala RoundTop 7 Pop Special
252024 May 31Gala RoundTop 7 Rastriya Prem Special
262024 June 1Gala RoundTop 6 Bhaktaraj Aacharya Special
272024 June 7Gala RoundTop 6 Judge Special
282024 June 8Gala RoundTop 5 Contestant's Special
292024 June 14Gala RoundTop 5 Celebrities Special
302024 June 15Gala RoundTop 4 Performance for Finale
312024 June 21Gala RoundHome Visit Special Episode
322024 June 22Gala RoundGrand Finale

Guests Appearances

  • Swar Band: Swapnil Sharma, Rohit Shakya, Gautam Tandukar
  • Jhuma Limbu
  • Prakash Sayami & Ram Krishna Dhakal
  • Hercules Basnet
  • Menuka Poudel, Amit Baral, Kiran Bhujel, Mamata Gurung, Pratap Das, Sajja Chaulagain, Pawan Giri, Muskaan Ranabhat, Nishan Bhattarai
  • Om Bikram Bista
  • Viplob Pratik and
  • Satya Raj Acharya and Swaroop Raj Acharya
  • Shiva Pariyar
  • Pushpan Pradhan
  • Neetesh Jung Kunwar, Deepak Limbu, Samriddhi Rai, Mingma Sherpa and Tika Prasain
  • Gopal Rasaily and Sanjeev Baraili

    Golden Mic Winners

  • Prerana BC
  • Prakash Buda
  • Santosh Pun
  • Rahul Biswash
  • Karan Pariyar

    Elimination Chart

Season 6

The sixth season of Nepal Idol was confirmed by AP1TV by publishing announcement video in its digital platform. The auditions was held on:
  • Itahari
  • Pokhara
  • Nepalgunj
  • Kathmandu
Selected participants from Pre-Judge Audition were brought to Kathmandu for Judge Audition where participants performed with backup band in front of judge for further rounds. The Judge Audition was shot on Royal Tulip Hotel which is the venue partner for Nepal Idol.

Elimination Chart

In season 6, out of Top 16 participants, the top 8 will be considered safe. After that, the remaining 8 will fall into the danger zone and ask for votes. Based on the voting results, every week, 2 contestants will be eliminated until the top 10 is reached, and after the top 10, 1 contestant will be eliminated each week from the Nepal Idol stage. All contestants after Top 10 will ask for votes.

Nepal Idol Junior

On June 7, Vice Chairperson of Annapurna Media Network announced that, AP1 is bringing Nepal Idol Junior, a spinoff kids version of singing reality show after the completion of Nepal Idol Season 5. The logo was announced on July 17, 2024. The digital auditions starting on Afno Digital App. Due to less number of audition received by the organizers, the program has been postponed until further notice. The digital auditions has been resumed once again with plan of broadcast by March 2026 before seventh season of Nepal Idol.

Controversy and lawsuit

On 1 September 2017, the judges of the content announced that they would use their "veto" and not allow the elimination of any contestant at the end of that episode. The hosts announced that the votes received for that episode would be added to the next weeks elimination scores. However, the move drew considerable criticism on social media, with many accusing the producers of trying to make more money or trying to save their "favourite" contestant. After that they had to face a lawsuit against them.
A lawsuit was also subsequently filed by a local lawyer against Nepal Idol and the channel broadcasting the show, in which the plaintiff claimed that the judges did not allow the elimination to save their "favorite" contestant and not disclosing the result of the vote. This lawsuit was dismissed by the court, finding that the plaintiff did not have "sufficient grounds for their claim".