Rahul Gandhi Citizenship Row | High Court Transfers Case To Lucknow As BJP Worker Alleges 'Death Threats' By Advocates In Raebareli

The Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench) on Wednesday directed the immediate transfer of a criminal complaint case filed against the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Raebareli MP, Rahul Gandhi, from the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate-IV, Raebareli, to the Special MP/MLA Court in Lucknow. A bench of Justice Brij Raj Singh thus allowed a Transfer Application filed by BJP Worker, S. Vignesh Shishir (original complainant) under Section 447 BNSS. In his transfer petition, Shishir referred to a tense and violent atmosphere in the Raebareli court, alleging that he was intimidated by local advocates and supporters of the Congress leader. Thus, he argued that fair and impartial court proceedings were impossible there. Briefly put, Shishir recently moved an application under Section 173(4) BNSS, seeking the registration of an FIR against Rahul Gandhi, claiming that he holds British citizenship. In his plea, he cited records from the United Kingdom Company's House and UK Electoral Rolls and has sought action against Raebareilly MP under the Foreigners Act, Passport Act and Official Secrets Act. He claims to possess specific evidence regarding Gandhi's British citizenship. As per his transfer petition, on December 5, 2025, when he was in the Raebareilly Cour premises, more than a hundred local Advocates reached inside the Courtroom, abused him and started shouting that a resolution on the occasion of "Advocate's Day" has been passed by the Local Bar, due to which the Court cannot function without the permission of the local Bar. In the HC's order, the claims of the petitioner have been specifically recorded that though he is always accompanied by the Personal Security Officer (PSO), under the direction of the court, the local Advocates forcefully threw the Personal Security Officer outside the Court room “with a hidden agenda to harm/endanger the life of the complainant/applicant”. As per the HC's order, he further claimed that he received death threats as Gandhi had instructed the people present there to harm the life of the complainant/applicant inside the Court room itself and make it a mob incident committed by unknown persons. In fact, his plea also alleged that the Special Judge had to be escorted by the Police/Gunner to his chamber to protect him from the situation unfolding in the courtroom. Further, as per his claims, since the sloganeering and protest continued to become even fiercer, the Special Judge decided to adjourn the matter to a later date for arguments, and the next date was fixed as 12/12/2025. Government Advocate VK Singh, assisted by AGA Rao Narendra Singh, submitted that since it is an application for transfer of the case, the State has no role. Against the backdrop of these submission, the High Court dispensed with the issuance of notice to Rahul Gandhi at this stage, noting that since the order for registration of the FIR had not yet been passed, the opposite party was not yet an "aggrieved person". Further, addressing the core issue of transfer, the High Court allowed the plea by observing thus: "In view of the aforesaid factual aspects, I find that in all fairness the application is liable to be transferred from District Raebareli to Lucknow."

Rahul Gandhi Citizenship Row | High Court Transfers Case To Lucknow As BJP Worker Alleges 'Death Threats' By Advocates In Raebareli

Sparsh Upadhyay

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