Rahul Gandhi’s ‘British Citizenship’ Row: Allahabad HC Closes Case

The Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench, on Monday, May 5, 2025, disposed of the petition filed by BJP Karnataka member S. Vignesh Shishir seeking direction for a CBI investigation into claims of Rahul Gandhi's alleged British citizenship.

The bench of Justice Attau Rehman Masoodi and Justice Rajeev Singh passed the order. A detailed order on the issue is yet to come.

The Public Interest Litigation (PIL), not only questioned Gandhi’s citizenship status but also sought to invalidate his election as Member of Parliament from Rae Bareli, arguing that if Gandhi holds British citizenship, he was ineligible to contest elections under Article 84(a) of the Constitution, which bars foreign nationals from being elected as MPs.

The plea contended that if Gandhi reacquired Indian citizenship after 2003 or 2006, he ought to have declared this in his nomination papers. It further asserted that such non-disclosure would render his candidature legally untenable.

Vignesh claimed to have obtained key information from VSS Sarma, a Canadian citizen, who had corresponded with the UK Government and received communications allegedly referring to Gandhi’s British citizenship.

Based on this, Vignesh had also filed a separate complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), requesting a formal probe into Gandhi’s alleged foreign nationality.

Separately, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has also approached the Delhi High Court over the same issue. In those proceedings, Swamy’s counsel expressed frustration that the Ministry of Home Affairs had failed to respond to written queries submitted by Swamy, despite repeated follow-ups. The counsel underscored the importance of the issue and the lack of clarity from the Centre. Notably, the Union government had also told the Delhi High Court on March 26 that Gandhi’s citizenship status was still under active examination by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

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