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Swamy asserted that a company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in 2003, with Rahul Gandhi as one of the Directors and Secretary. He alleged that the Company's Annual Returns for 2005 and 2006 indicated Gandhi's birthdate as June 19, 1970, and his nationality as British.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy approached the Delhi High Court concerning the citizenship status of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Swamy, in his petition, sought directions against the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide a status report on his complaint against Gandhi.
Per Swamy’s petition, he lodged a complaint in August 2019, alleging that Gandhi had violated the law by ‘voluntarily disclosing’ to the British Government that he held British citizenship, which implied possession of a British passport. On April 20, 2019, the Ministry sent Gandhi a notice titled ‘Complaint regarding citizenship’. Swamy stated that despite numerous requests to the Ministry for updates, he received no response.
Swamy, represented by Advocate Satya Sabharwal, claimed that Gandhi, as an Indian citizen, breached Article 9 of the Constitution of India, in conjunction with the Indian Citizenship Act of 1955, which would result in Gandhi losing his Indian citizenship. He contended that per Article 9 of the Indian Constitution, no person shall be considered a citizen of India if they have voluntarily acquired citizenship of another country.
In May 2019, the Supreme Court rejected the plea to bar Rahul Gandhi from contesting the 2019 General Elections, dismissing the claim that he held British citizenship. The Apex Court questioned the validity of the allegations, noting that merely being identified as a British citizen by a company does not necessarily make him one.
Another PIL was filed before the Allahabad High Court, filed by S. Vignesh Shishir, challenging Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's eligibility to serve as a Member of Parliament (MP) due to alleged foreign citizenship. However, this petition was dismissed by the court.
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