The Supreme Court has issued an interim order to establish a transitional mechanism for registering marriages between non-heterosexual couples.

A legal team consisting of senior advocate Kedar Dahal, as well as advocates Prem Chandra Rai, Anurag Devkota, Rounik Aryal, and Pukar Dahal represented the petitioners during the preliminary hearing before the Supreme Court.

According to Anurag Devkota a human rights lawyer and researcher, “The court’s landmark order recognizes the marriage rights of individuals based on their gender identity and sexual orientation, calling for necessary amendments to the current Civil Code.”

This follows a Public Interest Litigation filed by representatives of the LGBTQ+ community.

Rukshana Kapali – a law student, Queer activist, and author – has emphasized that this is not a decision or a verdict; it is an interim order. “It is not a marriage certificate like those of heterosexual couples. It is just a temporary one until the petition gets a final verdict.”

With this, although a stepping stone of progress seems to have been laid, the decision on whether it will stay is still yet to come.