District Court rejects to register same sex marriage

Kathmandu District Court has rejected an application registered by sexual minority community for same sex marriage despite a Supreme Court order dated some two weeks ago. Maya Gurung, 38 and Surendra Pandey, 27, both physically male, had gone to the district court to register their marriage as per the Supreme Court order dated ….. However, the single bench of the district court judge Madhav Prasad Mainali rejected the application saying both the applicants are from the same sex.

The Supreme Court had issued an Interim Order to register same sex marriage. But unfortunately the Kathmandu District Court rejected the application registered by the sexual minority community, said Sunil Babu Panta, founding president of Blue Diamond Society and also a leading activist of the sexual and gender minority community following the court decision.

The district court’s decision has not only given a blow to the sexual minority community but it has also dishonoured the Supreme Court’s order, he pointed out. “Although the prejudiced decision of the court has hurt our feeling but we do not consider it as a defeat,” he said adding “we will knock the door of the Supreme Court as soon as possible to heal our wound.”

The Supreme Court had issuing an order on June 28 legalized the same sex marriage. The court issued an Interim Order to the government to temporarily register same sex marriage before some specific law is formulated for the purpose.