A fresh petition has been filed in the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court seeking the cancellation of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Indian citizenship and a temporary ban on his foreign travel until the matter is resolved.
The plea, submitted by Karnataka-based petitioner S V Shishir through the court registry, urges the court to bar Gandhi—Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha—from leaving the country while the petition is under consideration.
As of Thursday, the court registry had not cleared the matter for hearing. Once processed, it will be placed before an appropriate bench for judicial review.
This is not Shishir’s first attempt to raise questions over Gandhi’s citizenship. A similar petition by him was disposed of earlier on May 5 by a bench comprising Justices A R Masoodi and Rajiv Singh. In that ruling, the court acknowledged that the petitioner had already made a representation to the central government and directed the competent authority to evaluate the matter in accordance with the law.
The new petition reiterates the demand for cancellation of Gandhi’s citizenship and introduces the additional request for a travel restriction.
