The Allahabad High Court transferred the British citizenship complaint against Rahul Gandhi from Raebareli to Lucknow. The move came after the complainant claimed that Gandhi’s supporters were preventing him from presenting his arguments in the Raebareli court.
The Allahabad High Court transferred a complaint to Lucknow that was previously pending before a court in Raebareli.
This complaint seeks to initiate a criminal case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over claims regarding his alleged British citizenship.
Justice Brij Raj Singh made the decision to move the case after acknowledging the complainant’s assertion that Gandhi’s supporters were obstructing his ability to present his argument in the Raebareli court.
The court also took into account the complainant’s allegation of disturbances caused by a mob and advocates of District Raebareli, where Gandhi serves as the Member of Parliament (MP).
The Court said,
“The applicant has made allegation that the opposite party No.4 is a sitting Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from Raebareli constituency; therefore, in the light of the aforementioned facts, he prays that the case may be transferred to some other District. In view of the aforesaid factual aspects, I find that in all fairness the application is liable to be transferred from District Raebareli to Lucknow,”
As a result, the Court ordered the transfer of the complaint from the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate-IV (MP/MLA Court) in Raebareli to the court handling MP/MLA cases in Lucknow.
Notably, the Court did not issue any notice to Gandhi prior to this order, as the complainant’s counsel argued that the Leader of the Opposition is not yet an aggrieved party, given that no formal FIR has been registered concerning the application submitted under Section 173(4) of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
The complaint, filed by S. Vignesh Shishir, aims to register a criminal case against Gandhi on various grounds, including the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Official Secrets Act, the Passport Act, and the Foreigners Act.
Shishir claims that Gandhi was a Director of the UK-based company Backops Ltd, where he allegedly declared his nationality as British.
Following the police’s failure to register the case based on the complaint, Shishir took the matter to the trial court. Previously, he had also petitioned the Ministry of Home Affairs to revoke Gandhi’s Indian citizenship on the basis that he reportedly acquired British citizenship.
In August, the High Court instructed the Union government to provide Shishir with a personal security officer (PSO) from the Central Armed Police Forces for his continuous protection.
S. Vignesh Shishir represented himself, while Government Advocate VK Singh and advocate Rao Narendra Singh appeared on behalf of the State.
Read the Report On Rahul Gandhi’s British Citizenship