Nepal’s Supreme Court made history on June 18, 2026 C.E., issuing a binding order that requires the government to recognize same-sex marriages — making Nepal the 40th country in the world to do so and the first in South Asia. The ruling ends more than 15 years of legal uncertainty for LGBTQ+ Nepalis who had waited through failed legislation, contradictory government circulars, and a prolonged court process.
At a glance
- Same-sex marriage Nepal: The Supreme Court’s June 18, 2026 C.E. final verdict orders the government to formally recognize same-sex marriages, converting what had been a temporary registration process into full legal standing.
- South Asia milestone: Nepal is the first country in South Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, a notable achievement in a region where homosexuality remains criminalized in several neighboring nations.
- Legal limbo lifted: Since November 2023, at least 35 same-sex marriages had been documented by local LGBTQ+ rights organizations under a provisional system — nine confirmed by media — but couples lacked the full protections of legal marriage until this ruling.
The road to this verdict was long and winding. The Supreme Court first signaled a path forward in 2008, ruling in Sunil Babu Pant v. Nepal Government that the state must ensure equal rights for same-sex couples. But legislation repeatedly stalled. The National Code of Nepal, enacted in 2018 C.E., actually moved backward — explicitly defining marriage as “when a man and a woman accept each other as husband and wife.” Activists at the time called the provision unconstitutional and contrary to existing court guidelines.
An interim order in June 2023 C.E. directed local authorities to create a separate register for “sexual minorities and non-traditional couples.” Even that partial step proved rocky. A same-sex couple in Kathmandu was denied a marriage registration in July 2023 C.E., then again by the Patan High Court in October. A temporary license was finally issued in their home Lamjung District in November 2023 C.E. The Ministry of Home Affairs followed in April 2024 C.E. with a circular allowing local authorities to enter same-sex marriages into a separate record — but confirmed in May 2025 C.E. that these certificates did not grant full legal protections.
Why this moment matters beyond the courtroom
Nepal’s path to marriage equality sits inside a broader story of legal recognition that began decades earlier. The country’s 2015 C.E. constitution included “gender and sexual minorities” as a protected category — one of the few constitutions in South Asia to do so explicitly. Nepal has also long recognized a third gender category on official identity documents, a practice that predates the marriage ruling by years.
In 2017 C.E., Monica Shahi, a third-gender person whose identity documents listed sex as “other,” successfully registered a marriage in far-western Dadeldhura District — an event that drew both congratulations from LGBTQ+ activists and skepticism from the Home Ministry, which said the marriage could be “invalid.” That legal ambiguity is precisely what the 2026 C.E. ruling resolves.
Nepal’s is one of many human rights advances that have taken hold through sustained legal advocacy rather than legislative action alone. The pattern — courts leading where parliaments hesitate — has appeared in countries from South Africa to Taiwan, and now Nepal joins that list.
What the ruling means in practice
The Supreme Court’s order is binding on the government, meaning authorities must now recognize same-sex marriages in the same way they do opposite-sex unions. That distinction matters enormously for inheritance, hospital visitation, property rights, and access to spousal benefits. Couples who had registered under the provisional system since late 2023 C.E. have been in a legal gray zone on all of these questions.
The ruling also carries symbolic weight for the broader region. In countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, same-sex relationships remain criminalized or face deep legal barriers. Nepal’s recognition may increase pressure on its neighbors, though legal change in those countries faces very different political conditions.
There are real limits to what a court order alone can achieve. Implementation will depend on government follow-through, and Nepal’s recent legislative history — including the National Code’s explicit exclusion of same-sex unions in 2018 C.E. — shows that political will has sometimes lagged behind judicial direction. Advocacy groups will likely need to monitor enforcement closely in the months ahead.
A long community effort behind one landmark ruling
Credit for this outcome belongs substantially to Nepali LGBTQ+ activists who spent years maintaining visibility, building legal cases, and documenting unofficial unions. Sunil Babu Pant, the activist and politician whose 2008 C.E. Supreme Court case established the original precedent for equal rights, is among those whose decades of work made this day possible. Local organizations tracked the 35 same-sex marriages registered under the provisional system — a quiet act of community documentation that helped demonstrate both demand and resilience.
In 2011 C.E., a lesbian couple held a traditional Hindu ceremony at the Dakshinkali Temple near Kathmandu, with no legal standing but full social intention. Fifteen years later, the law has caught up to lives that were already being lived.
Read more
For more on this story, see: Wikipedia — Same-sex marriage in Nepal
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