Biratnagar, April 17 -- The Supreme Court has issued an interim order directing the government not to deport four Bhutanese refugees who re-entered Nepal after being denied entry by Bhutan. The court's order came on Thursday following a habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of the detainees.

A single bench of Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal instructed the government to produce the four refugees-Ashok Gurung, Santosh Darji, Roshan Tamang, and Ashish Subedi-before the court on April 23.

The four, who are from Nepali speaking community in Bhutan, were resettled in the United States under a UN-led third-country resettlement programme. They were deported from the US on March 24 over alleged involvement in criminal activities.

The individuals, i...