05-05-2025
Allahabad High Court disposes of petition seeking CBI probe into Rahul Gandhi's citizenship
The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday (May 5, 2025) disposed of a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the citizenship of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.
A Bench of Justices A.R. Masoodi and Rajiv Singh allowed the petitioner to approach the appropriate forum to seek relief. A detailed order on the issue was not available till the time of the filing of this report.
In previous hearings, Deputy Solicitor General S.B. Pandey had submitted in court that, acting on the petitioner's complaint, the concerned Ministry had written to the U.K. government, seeking details on Mr. Gandhi's alleged British citizenship, and hence the government needed more time to take a final decision on the petitioner's representation.
Sources in the government said that as the Central government had not been able to provide any time limit on resolving the petitioner's complaint, the court had observed that there was no justification in keeping the petition pending.
'The PIL was disposed of, giving liberty to the Government of India to take a decision on the petitioner's representation on Mr. Gandhi's citizenship. On the issue that the petitioner sought the cancellation of Mr. Gandhi's Lok Sabha membership, the court noted that this relief could not be granted to him as he did not fulfil the criteria to demand it,' a senior official involved in the matter said.
The matter pertains to a plea filed by S. Vignesh Shishir, who had petitioned the court to order the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), the Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh, and the Returning Officer of Raebareli to cancel Mr. Gandhi's electoral certificate, apart from seeking a CBI probe into his citizenship.
Mr. Shishir's social media profile says he is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In his application, he claimed that he had submitted a detailed representation-cum-complaint to the Foreigners Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs, in which he had requested the concerned authorities to cancel Mr. Gandhi's Indian citizenship under the Rules and Regulations of Section 9(2) of the Citizenship Act, 1955; Rule 40(2) of the Citizenship Rules, 2009; and Schedule III of the 2009 Rules.
