Nepal's highest court has ruled that married couples
jailed at the same time -- even for serious crimes -- should be
quartered together to protect their "conjugal rights."
The ruling was made on a petition filed on behalf of a husband
and wife serving life sentences for murder.
The childless couple had argued that they were being denied
their constitutional right to conceive while still fertile.
"If both husband and wife are in the same prison, their conjugal
and reproductive rights must be ensured," Supreme Court spokesman
Hemant Rawal said Wednesday.
"The interim constitution guarantees the reproductive rights of
every citizen," Rawal added.
The court also ordered the government to conduct a study on the
number of married couples jailed in the same institutions.