Lucknow, April 18: The Allahabad High Court on Saturday stayed its order of registering an FIR against Rahul Gandhi in the case of alleged dual citizenship.
The court also stated that no decision could be taken without first hearing the accused.
Earlier on Friday, the HC’s Lucknow bench had directed the Uttar Pradesh police to register an FIR against the Congress MP, citing allegations that he concealed British citizenship while incorporating a company in England in 2003.
The bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi had also allowed the state government to transfer the probe to any central agency. It noted that a prima facie reading of the allegations indicated cognizable offences that need a central agency probe to uncover the underlying truth.
The direction came after the Deputy Solicitor General submitted relevant documents as sought by the court recently.
Worth mentioning,the plea was filed by Karnataka BJP worker Vignesh Shishir, who alleged that Rahul had declared himself a UK citizen while incorporating a company, M/S Backops Ltd, registered in August 2003. According to the petitioner,
Rahul had voluntarily listed his nationality as British and provided a Director Identification ID along with addresses in London and Hampshire.
While passing its earlier order, the bench had set aside a January 28, 2025 ruling by a special MP/MLA court in Lucknow, which had declined to order an FIR.
Acting on it, the Allahabad High Court observed that the lower court failed to adequately examine the facts in ascertaining the prima facie of the case that attracts punishment of cognizable offences.
During the hearing, deputy solicitor general SB Pandey presented central government records related to the citizenship issue, while state government counsel VK Singh agreed that the allegations, on the face of it, warranted futher investigation.
