On July 13, Judge Madhav Prasad Mainali of the Kathmandu District Court declined to register the marriage of Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey, citing the absence of a legal provision for same-sex marriage.
The court order refers to a Supreme Court ruling on June 28, which directed the authorities to facilitate the registration of the couple’s marriage. However, since the Kathmandu District Court was not named as a respondent in the case, the marriage could not be officially registered.
According to the court order, marriage by registration is governed by Section 77 of the National Civil Code of 2017. In Section 77(1), it is explicitly stated that an application for marriage registration can be filed by a man or a woman. If the two individuals applying for registration are not found to be of different sexes, as specified in the application, the marriage cannot be registered in accordance with the provisions outlined in Section 77.
The decision of Judge Mainali to refuse the marriage registration has caused disappointment among advocates for LGBTQ+ rights. Sunil Babu Pant, former Chairperson of the Blue Diamond Society, expressed his dissatisfaction with the District Court’s decision and stated that they would once again approach the Supreme Court to challenge the ruling.
Previously, on June 28, the Supreme Court had ordered the government to legalize same-sex marriage and issued an interim order for the registration of such marriages, even if it meant maintaining a temporary registration record until the legal framework was established. Justice Til Prasad Shrestha of the Supreme Court issued the interim order, directing the government to make the necessary arrangements for registering same-sex marriages, with the provision that a temporary record would be maintained upon request from same-sex couples.
In the interim order, the Supreme Court emphasized that Section 69(1) of the Civil Code of 2017 grants every individual the freedom to marry, and Article 18(1) of the Constitution of Nepal stipulates equality before the law for all citizens.