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Synopsis

The Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench on Tuesday asked whether the representation filed by  BJP Karnataka member S. Vignesh before the government regarding Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's alleged British citizenship has been decided yet or not.

The bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Om Prakash Shukla passed the order in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed seeking direction to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to initiate a Regular Case (RC) under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against Gandhi. The petition demands a thorough investigation into claims that Gandhi holds foreign citizenship.

The PIL seeks to invalidate Gandhi's election as the Member of Parliament (MP) from Rae Bareli, arguing that, if he is indeed a British citizen, he was ineligible to stand for election. The petition asserts that Gandhi’s Indian citizenship, if obtained after 2003/2006, should have been declared at the time of his nomination, in line with Article 84(a) of the Indian Constitution, which disqualifies foreign citizens from being elected as MPs.

The petition claims to have received information from VSS Sarma, a Canadian citizen, about a communication from the UK Government concerning Gandhi’s British citizenship. This new PIL comes two months after a previous petition on the same issue, which was withdrawn. The High Court’s order on July 1, 2024, had advised Vignesh to approach the competent authority under Section 9(2) of the Citizenship Act, 1955.

Following the dismissal of his earlier petition, Vignesh submitted a detailed representation to the Ministry of Home Affairs, which remains under review. He also conducted further inquiries, receiving ‘new inputs’ and requesting details from the UK Government about Gandhi’s citizenship records. According to Vignesh, the UK Government’s response indicates that Gandhi’s British citizenship records exist but cannot be released without his consent, as per the UK General Data Protection Regulations and the Data Protection Act, 2018.

The PIL argues that the UK Government’s response implicitly confirms Gandhi’s British nationality and requests the CBI to obtain a Letter of Rogatory from an Indian court to retrieve all relevant information from the UK Government regarding Gandhi's citizenship. Additionally, the petition calls for the Chief Election Commissioner, the Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh, and the Returning Officer of Rae Bareli to annul Gandhi’s election certificate.

Notably, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has also filed a petition in the Delhi High Court regarding Gandhi's citizenship status.

Case Title: S Vignesh Shishir v. Sri Rahul Gandhi and 13 Others