Kathmandu court rejects marriage registration application of gay couple

The Kathmandu District Court on Thursday rejected a marriage registration application filed by a gay couple despite the Supreme Court legalising same-sex marriages in Nepal.

Maya Gurung, 38, and Surendra Pandey, 27, -- both born male -- had sought the court's approval to register their marriage. However, the single bench of the district court judge Madhav Prasad Mainali rejected the application on the grounds that both the applicants are of the same gender.

"The Supreme Court has issued an interim order to register same-sex marriage. But unfortunately, the Kathmandu District Court rejected the application of the sexual minority community members," said Sunil Babu Panta, a leading activist of the sexual and gender minority community, after the court's decision.

The court’s action is not only a blow to the sexual minority community, but it also dishonoured the Supreme Court’s order, he said.

“Although the prejudiced decision of the court has hurt our feelings, we do not consider it as a defeat. We will knock on the doors of the Supreme Court as soon as possible to heal our wounds,” Panta said.

Nepal's Supreme Court on June 28 legalised same-sex marriages. However, the country is yet to formulate laws for the registration of same-sex marriages. The apex court has passed an interim order asking authorities to make temporary arrangements to register same-sex marriages before specific laws are formulated.