Today(25th Sept), The Allahabad High Court directed the Central government to provide an update on a representation submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs questioning Rahul Gandhi’s alleged UK citizenship. The court’s order followed a petition seeking a CBI investigation into the matter.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
UTTAR PRADESH: Today(25th Sept), The Allahabad High Court instructed the Central government to provide details regarding the status of a representation submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). This representation questions whether the Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, holds citizenship of the United Kingdom (UK).
A division bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Om Prakash Shukla ordered Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Surya Bhan Pandey to gather information from the Home Ministry concerning the representation. This inquiry comes in response to a petition filed by one S. Vignesh Shishir, who has demanded an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into Rahul Gandhi’s alleged UK citizenship.
Earlier in July, the High Court permitted Shishir to withdraw a similar plea, offering him the opportunity to explore legal avenues available under the Citizenship Act. Shishir has now returned to the court, seeking a ruling on his current representations that he submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs after the withdrawal of his earlier petition.
According to Shishir, the core of his submission is that Gandhi’s Indian citizenship should be annulled due to his alleged British nationality. This representation was made to the Union Home Ministry, with Shishir asking for appropriate action, including a potential CBI investigation.
During today’s hearing, the petitioner, S. Vignesh Shishir, apprised the Court that he had submitted two representations to the MHA following the withdrawal of his earlier plea. The focus of these submissions was the alleged British citizenship of Rahul Gandhi, and the petitioner urged the authorities to cancel Gandhi’s Indian citizenship based on these claims.
However, while Shishir has sought a broader investigation involving the CBI, the Court made it clear that its immediate focus lies solely on whether the Centre has received the representations and what steps, if any, have been taken by the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding these claims. The bench emphasized that the present hearing was not about the CBI probe but to ascertain the status of the representations submitted.
Shishir claimed that he had conducted an extensive investigation into the matter, which, according to him, revealed confidential information suggesting that Gandhi is indeed a British citizen. He based his plea on evidence shared by one VSS Sarma, who in 2022 had sought details from the UK government regarding Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship status.
As per Shishir’s submissions, Sarma had received confidential emails from the UK government that purportedly suggested that Gandhi held British nationality.
“The emails indicate that Rahul Gandhi holds British nationality,”
-Shishir stated in his plea.
However, Shishir further explained that due to strict data protection regulations in the UK, the authorities there could not disclose comprehensive information unless Rahul Gandhi himself provided a signed letter of authorization.
The issue of Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship has not been limited to the Allahabad High Court. A similar Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was previously filed by former Union Minister Subramanian Swamy before the Delhi High Court. Swamy has also raised questions about Gandhi’s citizenship, alleging that he holds British citizenship. That PIL is still pending in the Delhi High Court, making this an ongoing legal and political controversy.
The Allahabad High Court has scheduled the next hearing on this matter for September 30
