Nepal becomes the first South Asian country to officially register same-sex marriage
Kathmandu, Nov 30: Five months after the Supreme Court legalised it, Nepal on Wednesday formally registered the first case of same-sex marriage, making it the first South Asian country to do so.
Trans-woman Maya Gurung, 35 and Surendra Pandey, 27, a gay, got legally married and their marriage was registered at Dordi Rural Municipality of Lamjung district in Western Nepal, according to Sanjib Gurung (Pinky), president of Blue Diamond Society, an organization working for the rights and welfare of the sexual minorities in Nepal.
Way back in 2007, Nepal's Supreme Court had allowed same-sex marriage. Even the Constitution of Nepal, adopted in 2015, explicitly states that there can be no discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
On June 27, 2023, the Supreme Court issued an interim order to legalise same-sex marriage in Nepal in a writ petition filed by multiple people, including Gurung. But despite the historic order to temporarily register same-sex marriage, Kathmandu District Court four months ago rejected the move citing a lack of necessary laws.
Surendra Pandey and Maya's marriage application was rejected at that time.
"It's a great pleasure to learn about this, it is a great achievement for us, the third gender community of Nepal," Pinky told PTI. "This is the first case not only in Nepal but also in the whole of South Asia, and we welcome the decision."
Married in the traditional manner with the approval of their families, Surendra, a resident of Nawalparasi district, and Maya, a resident of Lamjung district, have been living together as husband and wife for the past six years.
"There are many third-gender couples living without their identities and rights and this is going to help them a lot," Pinky said, adding that the door has now opened for other people of this community to get their marriage legalised.
"Now their marriage has been temporarily registered and after the formulation of necessary laws, it will get permanent recognition automatically."
Speaking to PTI after the marriage ceremony, Maya said that it was a moment of celebration for both of them.
"We are very happy to have registered our marriage formally. We are now celebrating it by dancing and partying," said Maya.
"We both, Surendra and I are here at Dordi in Lamjung to celebrate the occasion together. Aama Samuha or the local Mother's Group is also joining together with us. We felt greatly honoured by the decision to register our marriage," Maya said.
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MUDA case: Karnataka HC adjourns hearing till Dec 10
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday adjourned till December 10 the hearing on the plea seeking transfer of the investigation into the MUDA site allotment scam to the CBI. The plea was filed by activist Snehamayi Krishna doubting the credibility of Lokayukta investigation into the matter.
The petitioner told PTI that he approached the HC saying he has no faith in the Lokayukta police and hence the case should be handed over to the CBI.
In the MUDA case, it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by the MUDA.
The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where it developed a residential layout.
Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts. It is alleged that Parvathi had no legal title over this 3.16 acres of land at survey number 464 of Kasare village, Kasaba hobli of Mysuru taluk.
The Karnataka Lokayukta police and the Enforcement Directorate have launched an investigation into the 'scam'.
The CM has denied any wrongdoing in the alleged scam.
