The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday ordered the transfer of a criminal complaint questioning the citizenship of Congress leader and Raebareli MP Rahul Gandhi from Raebareli to Lucknow, citing concerns raised by the complainant about personal safety and the possibility of an unfair hearing.
The order was passed by Justice B.R. Singh on a petition filed by S. Vignesh Shishir, a BJP worker from Karnataka, who had moved the High Court seeking transfer of the proceedings pending before the Special MP/MLA Court in Raebareli. Shishir told the court that he was receiving life threats whenever he visited Raebareli and feared that local conditions would prevent a fair adjudication of his complaint.
The criminal complaint levels multiple allegations against Rahul Gandhi and invokes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Official Secrets Act, the Foreigners Act, and the Passport Act. Gandhi is the sitting Member of Parliament from Raebareli.
In his plea, the petitioner stressed that security concerns made it unsafe for him to pursue the case in Raebareli and urged the High Court to intervene to protect his right to a fair hearing. He specifically requested that the matter be shifted to Lucknow, where he believed the proceedings could take place without intimidation.
After hearing the submissions, the Lucknow bench accepted the plea and directed that the criminal complaint be transferred from Raebareli to Lucknow. The High Court’s order brings the proceedings under the jurisdiction of the Lucknow courts, effectively removing the case from Rahul Gandhi’s parliamentary constituency.
