Rahul Gandhi’s alleged British citizenship case has been reopened by the Allahabad High Court after new evidence was submitted through a review petition, adding a fresh dimension to the long-standing public interest litigation against him.
A new dimension has been added to the public interest petition regarding Rahul Gandhi’s alleged British citizenship, as petitioner S. Vignesh Shishir has filed a review petition with the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court.
This submission includes new videos and documents reportedly sourced from London, Vietnam, and Uzbekistan.
The High Court, On 14 May 2025, instructed the Central Government to take action on the issue. In response, the Citizenship Wing of the Ministry of Home Affairs formally contacted the British Government through the Indian Embassy, requesting information about Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship and passport.
According to the petitioner, the UK Government has since provided the requested information to Indian authorities, and he has been informed accordingly.
The case is currently under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) Anti-Corruption Branch-II in New Delhi. Allegations against Rahul Gandhi include violations of his constitutional oath and submitting a misleading election manifesto by allegedly concealing information about foreign citizenship.
The petition also lists the Election Commission, Enforcement Directorate (ED), Income Tax Department, Raebareli Returning Officer, and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha as respondents.
Previously, the Lucknow bench dismissed the case due to the Centre’s failure to submit a definitive report on Gandhi’s citizenship status, noting that the petition could not remain unresolved indefinitely and allowing the petitioner to seek other legal avenues if necessary.
The court directed that any reports received should be shared with the petitioner and filed in court. Following these developments, petitioner Vignesh submitted a review petition.
During the hearing on 21 April 2025, Additional Solicitor General Suryabhan Pandey presented a status report on behalf of the Centre, but the court found it insufficient and stressed that delays in this important matter would not be tolerated. The court ordered the Central Government to clarify Gandhi’s citizenship status within 10 days. Notably, no legal representation appeared for Rahul Gandhi during this session.
Vignesh Shishir, a Karnataka resident, initially alleged that Rahul Gandhi had declared himself a British citizen while serving as a director of a UK-based company.
Citing Election Commission regulations, he argued that dual citizens are ineligible to contest elections in India and called for Gandhi’s Indian citizenship to be revoked under Section 9(2) of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
The last hearing took place on 24 March 2025, where a division bench, including Justices A.R. Masoodi and Ajay Kumar Srivastava, directed the state government to submit a status report within four weeks.
The government requested an eight-week extension, and the next hearing was set for 21 April.
Earlier, on 19 December 2024, a bench led by Justices Rajan Roy and Om Prakash Shukla had instructed ASG Suryabhan Pandey to seek information from the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Ministry later informed the court that a letter had been sent to the UK Government for clarification on Gandhi’s citizenship status.
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The Union of India asked for more time, citing an ongoing comprehensive investigation, with a report anticipated within eight weeks.
It is worth noting that the Supreme Court had dismissed a similar petition in 2019. Then Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi remarked that if a company listed Rahul Gandhi as a British citizen, it did not, in itself, prove British citizenship.