High Court Questions Centre on Rahul Gandhi's Citizenship Allegations

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has asked the Centre about its decision on a representation under the Citizenship Act, 1955, regarding allegations that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi holds British citizenship. BJP worker S Vignesh Shishir filed the PIL, following inquiries and accessing confidential emails from the UK government.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday sought clarification from the Centre on whether any decision has been made regarding a representation under the Citizenship Act, 1955. The representation requests an inquiry into allegations that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi holds British citizenship.

A division bench, comprising Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Om Prakash Shukla, was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a BJP worker from Karnataka, S Vignesh Shishir. The court has scheduled the next hearing for September 30.

In the PIL, Shishir claimed to have conducted detailed inquiries and accessed confidential emails from the UK government, indicating records of Gandhi's British nationality. However, the UK government purportedly cannot disclose these details without Gandhi's consent, citing data protection laws. The petitioner has requested a CBI inquiry into the matter and asserts he filed a statutory representation under section 9(2) of the Citizenship Act without receiving a response. The court has asked the Assistant Solicitor General of India to seek instructions from the Union Home Ministry.

(With inputs from agencies.)