KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court has sought clarification from the government over its decision to recall 11 Nepali ambassadors from various countries, issuing separate orders for discussions on interim relief.

A single bench of Justice Kumar Regmi on Sunday directed both sides—the petitioners and the government—to appear for a hearing on November 2, while another bench led by Justice Binod Sharma called for a similar discussion on October 31.

The orders come in response to writ petitions filed by Sunil Bhattarai and Pratibha Upreti, who have challenged the Cabinet’s October 6 decision to recall ambassadors appointed during the tenure of the KP Sharma Oli-led government.

According to the petitions, the recall decision violates Articles 282 and 292 of the Constitution, under which ambassadors are appointed through parliamentary hearing approval and presidential endorsement.

The petitioners argue that the decision is unconstitutional, politically motivated, and risks creating a diplomatic vacuum if enforced before final adjudication.

The government had directed the ambassadors to return to Nepal by November 6.

Those recalled include ambassadors to UK (Chandra Kumar Ghimire), USA (Lok Darshan Regmi), China (Krishna Prasad Oli), Russia (Junga Bahadur Chauhan), Germany (Dr. Shail Rupakheti), Spain (Sanil Nepal), Japan (Dr. Durga Bahadur Subedi), Israel (Dr. Dhan Prasad Pandit), Malaysia (Dr. Netra Prasad Timilsina), Qatar (Ramesh Chandra Paudel), and Saudi Arabia (Naresh Bikram Dhakal),

The Supreme Court will decide on whether to issue an interim stay order after hearing both sides later this week.