Marriage of a same-sex couple has been registered for the first time in Nepal 

For the first time in Nepal, the marriage of a same-sex couple has been registered. The marriage between Surendra Pandey of Nawalparasi and Ram Bahadur Gurung known as Maya of Lamjung was registered by the local administration of Lamjung district. Lamjung’s Dordi rural municipality ward number 2 registered the marriage between Pandey and Gurung. Maya is a transsexual woman while Surendra is a gay. The local registrar Ranju Bishwakarma registered the marriage of Pandey and Gurung as per the Supreme Court’s interim order. The marriage between Pandey and Gurung was registered on Wednesday. The date of their marriage is 13\10 2017AD. In the marriage registration certificate, the type of marriage is mentioned as ‘according to social tradition’. It is also mentioned in the certificate that the records of this marriage registration will be kept temporarily. 

The Supreme Court issued an interim order in the name of the government to register same-sex marriages in June. The Supreme Court itself had issued an interim order in the name of the government to arrange the marriage registration so that temporary records remain. Pandey, 27 and Gurung, 35 had reached the district court in Kathmandu to apply for legal registration of their marriage as per the order of the Supreme Court decision. But when the district court refused to register the marriage, Pandey and Gurung approached the Patan High Court. Even from there, there was no order in their favour for registering the marriage. Then they went to the rural municipality, where their marriage was legally registered. This is also the first instance of registering same sex marriage in the whole of South Asia.