Allahabad High Court Disposes PIL Seeking CBI Probe Into LoP Rahul Gandhi's Citizenship

The Allahabad High Court on Monday disposed of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea filed by a BJP Member from Karnataka (S. Vignesh Shishir) last year, seeking a CBI probe into Congress leader and LoP in LokSabha Rahul Gandhi's alleged British Citizenship. Though a bench of Justice Attau Rehman Masoodi and Justice Rajeev Singh did not prescribe a specific timeline for the Union of India to decide on the petitioner's representation seeking cancellation of Gandhi's citizenship, it granted petitioner the liberty to pursue alternative legal remedies. It may be noted that Petitioner-Vignesh has already submitted a detailed representation-cum complaint to the Foreigners Division, Ministry of Home Affairs, wherein a request has been made to cancel Gandhi's Indian citizenship. The representation has been moved as per Rules and Regulations of S. 9 (2) of 1955 Act r/w Rule 40 (2) of the Citizenship Rules 2009 and Schedule III of 2009 Rules. For context, Section 40 of the 2009 Rules deals with the Central Government's authority to determine whether, when, or how any citizen of India acquired the citizenship of another country. Vignesh had moved this representation following the dismissal of a similar PIL plea (filed by the same petitioner) that was withdrawn earlier, with a liberty to the petitioner to approach the competent authority under Section 9(2) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, as far as it is permissible in law. About Vignesh's petition In his PIL plea, Petitioner Vignesh claimed that after the HC dismissed his earlier PIL plea, he moved a detailed representation before the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, which is still pending. His PIL plea also stated that he made detailed enquiries into the issue, got several 'new inputs', and sent emails to the UK government seeking details about Gandhi's citizenship records. In this process, the Petition further stated that he learned that the UK government has already received a request from one VSS Sarma (respondent no. 14) seeking the details in 2022. After that, he (PIL petitioner-Vignesh) contacted Sarma, who agreed to share the 'confidential' emails he received from the UK Government. The PIL petition alleged that in those 'confidential' emails (of 2022), the UK Government has indicated that it has records of Rahul Gandhi's British Nationality, and such 'personal data' is governed by the UK General Data Protection Regulations as per the Country's Data Protection Act, 2018. However, the plea adds that the alleged mail further states that the Government can't provide information about Gandhi unless the UK Govt gets a signed letter of authority from Gandhi. Against this backdrop, the PIL plea claimed that the alleged mail from the UK Government is an 'outright admission' that Gandhi is a citizen of the United Kingdom. Therefore, the PIL pleaded that the CBI conduct a detailed probe into the matter, get a Letter of Rogatory from a competent court in India and extract all the Government records and information available with the Government of the UK/Britain regarding Gandhi's citizenship. The plea also asked for a direction from the Chief Election Commissioner, Chief Electoral Officer UP, and Returning Officer, Raebareli, to cancel Gandhi's electoral certificate. It may be noted that Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy has also filed a petition in the Delhi High Court regarding Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's citizenship.

Allahabad High Court Disposes PIL Seeking CBI Probe Into LoP Rahul Gandhi's Citizenship

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