
The petitioners stated that Constitution of Nepal has established the rights of homosexuals or gender and sexual minorities and provides that both citizens and individuals shall not be discriminated against and shall be provided with equal protection in the eyes of the law. Tobias’ non-tourist visa application was also denied. However, the couple had trouble in getting their marriage registered in Nepal and they were informed there is no provision of registering same-sex marriage in Nepal.

They fell in love and got married according to German law in 2018. In this writ petition the Division Bench of the Court comprising of Hari Prasad Phuyal* and Tank Bahadur Moktan, JJ., heard the prayer made by Abhdeep Pokharel and his spouse Tobias Volz, a Nepali and German citizen respectively.Ībhdeep, who had worked in several United Nations affiliated organisations, met Tobias. National Commission of Women (2012), where the Court had allowed a lesbian couple to co-habit 5 and Suman Panta case (2017) the Court in a decision rendered in March 2023, ordered the Government to recognise the same -sex marriage between a Nepali citizen and a German Citizen.Īdheep Pokharel v. Apart from decisions in Sunil Babu Pant case (2007) Rajni Shahi v.

This is not the first time that Nepal’s Supreme Court had made its stand clear regarding LGBTQ+ rights.

Ministry of Home Affairs 4, which recognized rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ+) people, the Court ruled that failure to recognize same-sex spouses violates Nepal’s Constitution and its international human rights obligations.

Referring to its landmark precedents in Sunil Babu Pant v. Supreme Court of Nepal: In a significant development in the neighbouring country of Nepal, the country’s Apex Court on 02-05-2023, ordered Nepal Government to recognize the same-sex foreign spouse of a Nepalese citizen 1 Human Rights Watch reported that the Supreme Court also ordered the Government to urgently consider a 2015 court-ordered report that recommended broader recognition of same-sex relationships 2.
