In the wake of the sudden announcement of nationwide lockdown in March 2020, millions of people decided to go back to their villages, towns and cities. Television channels filled with images of men, women and children, walking barefoot, some lugging suitcases with children on top were brought to living rooms of middle classes.

The Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the plight of migrants in Re: Problems and miseries of migrant labourers, writ Petition No SMWP(C) 6/2020, and on June 29, 2021, it passed an order of great significance for the well-being of migrant labour.

There are five major directions in the said order, which will be discussed in this two-part article series. The first four directions of the Supreme Court will be discussed in the first article, and the fifth in the second article.

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