Rahul Gandhi’s Citizenship row: Allahabad HC seeks centre’s response

In an interesting development on the 25th of November, the Allahabad High Court directed the Union Home Ministry to address a plea seeking the cancellation of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Indian citizenship over alleged possession of dual British citizenship and take a decision by 19 December, the next date of hearing.

The court issued the directive while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Karnataka BJP worker S. Vignesh Shishir. The petition also sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter.

During the hearing on November 25, the Lucknow bench, comprising Justices A.R. Masoodi and Subhash Vidyarthi, asked the additional solicitor general to obtain instructions from the MHA and present the response by December 19. 

The bench sought clarification on the action taken by the ministry regarding the representations submitted by the petitioner. Earlier, the deputy solicitor general informed the court that the petitioner’s representations had been received by the MHA. “The representation made by the petitioner has been received by the MHA and the matter is under consideration,” The Deputy Solicitor General of India mentioned. The court emphasized that its current focus was to determine whether the representations had been processed and what decision the ministry intended to take.

This case ties into a related matter being heard by the Delhi High Court. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had previously sought a CBI investigation and the cancellation of Rahul Gandhi’s Indian citizenship, claiming he held dual British citizenship. Swamy also requested the MHA to provide a status report on his earlier representations.

Shishir, the petitioner in the Allahabad High Court, had earlier withdrawn a similar petition in July, intending to explore remedies under the Citizenship Act. Following this, he submitted two fresh representations to the MHA.

The allegations of dual citizenship against Gandhi, who serves as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, have been a recurring point of contention.