HC seeks Centre’s response on plea regarding Rahul’s citizenship

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Monday asked the central government to furnish details about the action taken on a representation before the Union home ministry, which claimed that the leader of opposition (LoP), Rahul Gandhi, holds the citizenship of the United Kingdom (UK).

A division bench of justice AR Masoodi and justice Subhash Vidyarthi passed the order on a petition filed by one S Vignesh Shishir of Karnataka, seeking a CBI probe into Gandhi’s citizenship matter. The court directed additional solicitor general (ASG) SB Pandey to obtain instructions from the ministry of home affairs in this regard

within three weeks and to place its response on the next date, said ASG Pandey. It directed to list the plea in the week commencing from December 16, 2024.

The HC in July 2024 had allowed Shishir to withdraw a similar petition and granted him the liberty to pursue remedies under the Citizenship Act. Shishir has now again moved the high court for a decision on his representations. Shishir informed the court that after withdrawing his earlier petition before the high court, he submitted two representations to the competent authority in the Union home ministry.

These representations sought the cancellation of Gandhi’s Indian citizenship on the grounds of his alleged British citizenship. Shishir has also requested a CBI probe into the matter. The court had clarified that its current focus was solely on whether the centre had received the representations and what decision or action it proposed to take.

MANOJ KUMAR SINGH