The Constitutional Court said on Wednesday that it will hear a case on June 18 that could lead to the dismissal of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin over a cabinet appointment alleged to have violated the constitution.
The case against Mr Srettha followed a complaint by 40 military-appointed senators in May that was subsequently accepted by the charter court. The case involves the controversial appointment of politician Pichit Chuenban as a PM's Office minister.
The senators asked the court if Mr Srettha and Pichit should be removed from office under Section 170 (4) and (5) of the charter, which deals with the ethics of cabinet ministers.
Pichit was sentenced to six months in prison in 2008, and served time, along with two colleagues after they tried to bribe Supreme Court officials by handing them a paper bag containing 2 million baht inside a lunch box. He was deemed unfit by critics to serve as a cabinet minister.
Pichit resigned just before the court accepted the petition, which was seen as a bid to spare Mr Srettha from a legal wrangle. The court has agreed to hear the case against Mr Srettha, rejecting the case against Pichit because he has already stepped down.
In addition, the Constitutional Court also set June 18 to hear a case seeking to disband the opposition Move Forward Party (MFP).
In March, the Election Commission (EC) submitted a petition asking the court to rule on dissolving Move Forward. It was in response to the court's opinion issued on Jan 31 that the party's efforts to change Section 112 of the Criminal Code, the lese majeste law, indicated an intention to undermine the constitutional monarchy.
Based on the opinion, the EC argued that the party violated Section 92 of the organic law on political parties. The section gives the court power to dissolve any party seen as threatening the constitutional monarchy.
The hearings are part of a trio of sensitive court cases that have ramped up political uncertainty in Thailand.
On June 18, paroled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is scheduled to meet prosecutors to face a charge of insulting the monarchy.
The attorney general on May 29 announced he would indict Thaksin under Section 112 of the Criminal Code and on computer crime charges arising from an interview given to a Korean newspaper on Feb 21, 2015.