Allahabad High Court dismisses PIL alleging Rahul Gandhi holds dual citizenship

Lucknow, May 5: The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that alleged Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, holds dual citizenship of India and the United Kingdom.

The petition, filed by BJP worker S Vignesh Shishir from Karnataka, claimed that Gandhi is simultaneously a citizen of both India and the UK. According to the petitioner, this would make him ineligible to contest elections under Article 84(a) of the Indian Constitution, which outlines the qualifications for membership in Parliament.

During the proceedings, the court had previously directed the Central Government to provide details of any action taken regarding the citizenship claims. Following the government's submission, the court chose to dismiss the petition.

In an earlier hearing, the bench had expressed dissatisfaction with a status report submitted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which failed to clearly address whether Rahul Gandhi is an Indian citizen. The court then gave the government 10 days to file a revised report explicitly stating Gandhi’s citizenship status.

The matter has roots going back to 2019, when the MHA issued a notice to Gandhi after receiving a complaint from former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy. Swamy alleged that a company named Backops Limited, registered in the UK in 2003, listed Gandhi as one of its directors and secretaries.

According to Swamy, Gandhi had declared his nationality as "British" in the company’s official filings, including annual returns submitted on October 10, 2005, and October 31, 2006. The complaint further cited the company's dissolution application dated February 17, 2009, which also listed his nationality as British.

Despite these claims, the High Court found no grounds to proceed with the PIL, thereby closing the case.

(With agency inputs)