KATHMANDU, JUNE 28

The Supreme Court issued an interim order to the government to put in place a transitional mechanism to ensure marriage registration of same-sex couples and other non-traditional heterosexual couples.

Justice Til Prasad Shrestha, presiding over a single bench, issued the interim order today.

The interim order directs the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and other concerned ministries to establish a transitional mechanism ensuring the registration of marriages for traditional non-heterosexual couples by giving equal rights to marriage to all the LGBTIQ+ community.

This landmark verdict recognises the marriage rights of individuals based on their gender identity and sexual orientation, calling for necessary amendments to the provisions related to marriage and registered marriages within the current Civil Code, 2017.

To facilitate this process, the court further directed the government to establish a separate register of marriages for couples from sexual and gender minority communities.

Until the law is revised, provisional measures will be implemented through appropriate mechanism for all applicants as well as others equal to applicants (meaning members of sexual and gender minority communities).

This significant development follows a Public Interest Litigation filed on 7 June 2023, by Pinky Gurung (current president of Blue Diamond Society) and eight other applicants representing the LGBTIQA community.

'We have won our battle, we are very happy with the SC decision, ' said Pinky Gurung, president BDS to THT, adding, 'We were treated horrendously by our family, society and kin due to lack of law, but now we can easily tackle all the complications on our own with the help of our partner.'

Likewise, Advocate Sujan Pant said, 'The SC interim order states that the petitioner can easily get married as soon as the court reopens after tomorrow's public holiday. It also allows all the LGBTIQ+ community who are equivalent to the petitioners to get married.'

The PIL sought equal recognition and rights for same-sex couples, highlighting the need for legal reforms to ensure the protection and inclusion of all citizens.

More than 15 years ago, the Supreme Court issued directive order to amend or scrap all discriminatory laws and to pass same-sex marriage law based upon a report from a study committee The committee submitted a report 8 years ago recommending full marriage.

The government and the Parliament have not implemented the court's order yet. The civil code passed by the Parliament in 2017 has discriminatory provisions under marriage chapter, article 67 and article 76, that defines marriage between a man and a woman only.

Hence, this order today from the Supreme Court is just and right because the Parliament can't take forever to ensure citizens' rights, equality and non-discrimination.

The court has also requested a written response from the respondents regarding this matter.

This is a very significant development as same-sex as well as third genders and their partners can register their marriages.

They will have the same rights as heterosexual marriage couples.

Parliament may take a while to pass the marriage equality law, but this order gives a very practical solution to members of sexual and gender minority communities who wish to register their marriage legally.

A dedicated legal team, including senior advocate Kedar Dahal and Advocates Prem Chandra Rai, Anurag Devkota, Rounik Aryal, and Pukar Dahal, presented the case on behalf of the petitioners during the preliminary hearing before the Supreme Court.

A version of this article appears in the print on June 29, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.