Same-sex marriage has been legal in Nepal since 18 June 2026, when the Supreme Court issued a binding order to the government to recognise same-sex marriages. Prior to this decision, the legal status of same-sex marriage in Nepal had been the subject of lengthy litigation. In November 2008, the Supreme Court ruled in Sunil Babu Pant v. Nepal Government that the government must ensure equal rights for same-sex couples, and recommended legal recognition of same-sex relationships, but did not itself legalize same-sex marriage. The government subsequently delayed enacting comprehensive legislation recognizing same-sex unions. Despite repeated commitments to introduce a same-sex marriage bill, the Federal Parliament enacted the National Code of Nepal in 2018 that explicitly defines marriage as the union of "a man and a woman". In addition, the Constitution of Nepal, approved in September 2015, includes "gender and sexual minorities" as a protected category, but does not specifically address same-sex marriages.
On 28 June 2023, Supreme Court Justice Til Prasad Shrestha issued an interim order directing the government to establish a "separate register" for "sexual minorities and non-traditional couples" and to "temporarily register them" pending a final verdict by the full Supreme Court bench. Despite the directive, the Kathmandu District Court denied a same-sex couple's application to marry on 13 July 2023. The couple appealed to the Patan High Court, which also rejected the application on 6 October. However, the couple was issued a "temporary" marriage license in their home Lamjung District on 29 November 2023. On 24 April 2024, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a circular instructing local registration authorities to "temporarily" enter same-sex marriages into a separate record. However, the Ministry confirmed in May 2025 that these "temporary" certificates did not grant same-sex couples all the legal protections and benefits of marriage. Over the following years, thirty-five marriages were documented by local LGBT rights organizations, with nine confirmed by local media reports. Same-sex couples remained in legal limbo until 18 June 2026, when the Supreme Court delivered a final verdict in the case, ordering the government to recognise same-sex marriages.
Legal history Restrictions The Marriage Registration Act, 1971 did not explicitly forbid same-sex marriage, but generally referred to married spouses as "male or female" and required that the spouses take one another as "a husband and a wife". The law was superseded by the National Code of Nepal, enacted in August 2018, which explicitly defines marriage as "when a man and a woman accept each other as husband and wife". While the National Code was under discussion in the Federal Parliament, the government requested that provisions addressing same-sex marriage be omitted from the draft code. Activists called this out as unconstitutional and contrary to Supreme Court guidelines. A spokesman said that the government intended to pass a separate law on same-sex marriage. Despite these restrictions, a lesbian couple held a traditional Hindu marriage ceremony at the Dakshinkali Temple near Kathmandu in 2011, but the marriage had no legal status in Nepal at the time. In July 2017, another couple, Monica Shahi and Ramesh Nath, successfully registered their marriage in Parshuram in the far-western Dadeldhura District. Shahi was a third gender person, with their sex recorded as "other" (, ) on their official identity documents. LGBT activist Sunil Babu Pant congratulated the married couple, but Home Ministry spokesman Deepak Kafle said the marriage could be "invalid".
Constitutional wording
In 2010, several sources reported that same-sex marriage and protections for sexual minorities would be included in the new constitution being drafted. The Interim Constitution provided for a Constituent Assembly, which was charged with writing a permanent constitution. Under the terms of the Interim Constitution, the new constitution was to be promulgated by 30 November 2011, but a final six month extension was granted just before this deadline, bringing the date to 31 May 2012. Negotiations failed and Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai dissolved the Constituent Assembly on 28 May in preparations for the 2013 elections. The elections were held on 19 November 2013. The vote was repeatedly delayed, having previously been planned for 22 November 2012 following the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, but was put off by the Election Commission. On 10 February 2014, Sushil Koirala was elected as prime minister with a large majority, breaking the political deadlock and opening the way for the constitution to be finalised.
The Constitution of Nepal, approved in 2015, does not address same-sex marriages. However, Article 18 lists LGBT people amongst recognized and protected disadvantaged groups as "gender and sexual minorities" (, ; , ; , , )
Live-in relationships Live-in relationships (, , ) are not unlawful in Nepal; however, they do not confer the same legal rights and benefits as marriage. There are no statutory protections for cohabitating same-sex couples under Nepali civil law. In 2012, the Nepali Supreme Court recognized the relationship of a lesbian couple in Rajani Shahi v. National Women's Commission. The court allowed Rajani Shahi to live with her partner Prem Kumari Nepali rather than with her husband. Shahi had filed for divorce after coming out as lesbian, but her husband later abducted her and forced her to live with him. The verdict stated:
Court cases
2008 Supreme Court ruling in Sunil Babu Pant On November 17, 2008, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of laws guaranteeing equal rights to LGBT people and defining sexual minorities as "natural persons" under the law in Sunil Babu Pant v. Nepal Government. "This is a landmark decision for sexual minorities and we welcome it," said Sunil Babu Pant, Nepal's first publicly gay lawmaker and a leading gay rights activist in South Asia. The court asked the government to form a committee to study same-sex partnership laws in other countries and mandated that the new law not discriminate against sexual minorities, including transgender people.Nepal Supreme Court orders full LGBT rights On March 22, 2009, Pant said in an interview with the Indo-Asian News Service that "Though the court has approved of same-sex marriage, the government is yet to enact a law," signalling that while a same-sex marriage bill had been ordered by the Supreme Court, it had yet to be drafted or voted on, much less legislated. In June 2009, Pant said the process had just started: "Nepal is going through transition and everything seems to move slowly. The seven-member committee has formed and just started working to study same-sex marriage bills in other countries. Hopefully they will draft the suggestion to make same-sex marriage law soon and give it to the government to approve."
In January 2014, Chaitanya Mishra, a member of the committee formed to study international laws on same-sex marriage, stated that work on the report had been completed, except for a summary to be drafted by the chairman of the committee. The chairman, Laxmi Raj Pathak, promised to submit the report to the government within a month, but said that the government was "not interested in the matter". Bhumika Shrestha, an activist with the Blue Diamond Society, said he was not ruling out the possibility of another lawsuit with the Supreme Court. In August 2014, the Associated Press reported that the committee had decided to recommend the legalization of same-sex marriage. That same month, the Minister of Justice, Narahari Acharya, said that his ministry would present a bill to allow same-sex marriages. The committee submitted its report to the government on 9 February 2015, and in January 2016 a government official said that its recommendations were under consultation. In February 2016, the National Human Rights Commission asked the government to introduce a bill to allow same-sex marriage. Consequently, the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare created a committee for the purpose of preparing a draft bill on the issue in October 2016. In August 2018, former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai urged the government to legalise same-sex marriage, and on 1 July 2020 the National Human Rights Commission again called on the government to introduce a same-sex marriage bill. In 2023, Pant criticised the legislative inaction, saying, "The committee was formed, its members even went to Norway to study how same-sex married couples live. In 2015, the committee submitted their report to the government stating that Nepal should implement full marriage equality. Since then, the government and the parliament did nothing."
2026 Supreme Court ruling in Pinky Gurung Background and interim court judgement In 2023, Mitini Nepal, an LGBT advocacy group, filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the definition of marriage in the Civil Code. On 7 June, Pinky Gurung, president of the Blue Diamond Society, alongside eight other applicants, filed a public interest litigation seeking the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Nepal. On 28 June 2023, Supreme Court Justice Til Prasad Shrestha issued an interim order in Pinky Gurung v. Nepal Government, directing the government to establish "a separate marriage register" for "sexual minorities and non-traditional couples" and "to temporarily register them". The judge also gave the government fifteen days to issue a written reply, a deadline the government ignored. Both President Ram Chandra Poudel and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal refrained from making any official comment. Sunil Babu Pant celebrated the interim order, stating that "people are already rushing back to their villages and hundreds of same-sex couples will register their marriages very soon." He also claimed that the interim order would grant same-sex couples the same legal rights and benefits as married opposite-sex spouses. Some observers argued that Justice Til Prasad Shrestha had overstepped his authority, while others accused the media of pinkwashing and falsely portraying Nepal as "a beacon of LGBT rights".
On 24 April 2024, the Ministry of Home Affairs' National ID and Civil Registration Department (NIDCRD) issued a circular to local registration authorities, instructing them to enter same-sex marriages into a separate register. In September 2024, Sunil Babu Pant once again claimed that more than 150 same-sex couples were waiting to register their marriages, with many "fearing refusal by the government office" or being "scared because they have to go to their villages to register their marriage". By January 2026, nine same-sex marriages had been documented by local media reports. However, advocates repeatedly stressed the limitations of the temporary status. The Blue Diamond Society and Mitini Nepal stated several times that same-sex couples could not inherit property, receive tax subsidies, make spousal medical decisions or adopt children. Furthermore, the director of the NIDCRD, Mukesh Kumar Keshari, confirmed in May 2025 that the "temporary" marriage licenses did not grant same-sex couples the same legal rights and recognition as opposite-sex couples. The registration process was also plagued by practical difficulties. Local offices still used gendered forms on marriage certificates, forcing same-sex couples to choose "bride" (, ) and "groom" (, ) roles. The process was also significantly longer and more expensive than for opposite-sex couples, who can often register their marriages in about twenty minutes without legal help.
Reactions and first registrations