Nepal, June 7 -- The Supreme Court has issued a 'show-cause' notice to the government as to why the state shouldn't pay for the rescue and repatriation of destitute and unemployed citizens unable to buy a ticket home or pay for a hotel room for quarantine.

A single bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana issued the order responding to a petition filed by four lawyers on Wednesday, against the "Covid-19 returnee order" issued by the government. The lawyers challenged provisions in the order that make it mandatory for migrant workers wanting to return home to pay for their own ticket.

"The provisions in the government repatriation plan contradict with Section 75(2) of the Foreign Employment Act, 2007 which talks about the rescue an...