The Allahabad High Court on Monday allowed the Central Government additional time to present the outcome of a representation against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, which challenges his eligibility to contest in the 2024 parliamentary elections based on allegations of his British citizenship. The case has been deferred to the week of April 21 for further hearing.
A bench comprising Justices A R Masoodi and A K Srivastava made the decision in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by S Vignesh Shishir, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker from Karnataka. The PIL alleges that Gandhi concealed his British nationality, a claim that, if proven, could deem him ineligible to serve as a member of the Lok Sabha.
The issue came to light during a hearing in November of the previous year, where the court requested the BJP-led Central Government to address the petitioner’s claims. The government’s counsel informed the bench that a formal inquiry involving communication with the British government was underway to ascertain the truth of Gandhi’s alleged foreign citizenship.
The Centre’s repeated requests for more time were acknowledged by the bench, which has now set the next hearing for mid-April. The petitioner claims possession of documents and emails from the British government that supposedly validate the accusations against Gandhi.
Furthermore, Shishir contends that he had previously alerted the appropriate authorities about the matter, yet no decisive action was taken, prompting the legal approach. He argues that holding dual citizenship is a violation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Passport Act, advocating for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into Gandhi’s citizenship status.
