Dual citizenship row: Allahabad HC likely to hear Rahul Gandhi’s stand tomorrow

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi will present his stand in the Allahabad High Court over allegations of dual British citizenship. The court is examining a petition seeking FIR registration, after earlier orders directed police inquiry into the complaint by a BJP worker

Lucknow: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, is likely to present on Monday his stand in the Allahabad High Court on a petition filed by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker alleging that the Congress leader is a ‘British national’ enjoying dual citizenship.

The crucial hearing before the single-judge bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi will come ahead of the operation of the High Court’s direction to the Uttar Pradesh Police to inquire into the complaint by BJP worker from Karnataka, Vignesh Shishir.

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On Friday, the High Court in an oral order had given a go-ahead to police to initiate a probe and consider filing an FIR, if needed, against LoP Gandhi.

On Saturday, the High Court modified its final order, saying that the prospective accused must be given an opportunity of hearing before any such direction is issued.

Earlier in 2019, a petition seeking disqualification of Rahul Gandhi from contesting the Lok Sabha elections over the issue of alleged dual citizenship was dismissed by a bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.

On Saturday, Justice Vidyarthi withheld the order after it had already been dictated in open court, noting that the judgment could not be finalised without addressing the requirement of issuing notice to the proposed accused.

In the decision uploaded on the High Court’s official website on Saturday, Justice Vidyarthi recorded that during the hearing, all parties had submitted that “there is no requirement of issuance of a notice to the proposed accused” while deciding an application under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

However, before the judgment could be typed and signed, the single-judge bench came across a full bench ruling in Jagannath Verma vs State of Uttar Pradesh, which held that an order rejecting a plea for registration of an FIR is not interlocutory and is amenable to revision, and that “the prospective accused… is entitled to an opportunity of being heard before a decision is taken”.

“In view of the aforesaid legal position, it appears that the application under Section 528 of the BNSS should not be decided without issuing notice to the opposite party no.1 (Rahul Gandhi),” Justice Vidyarthi said, adding that the parties need to address this aspect.

The development assumes significance as the single-judge bench had earlier directed the Uttar Pradesh Police to conduct an inquiry and consider registration of an FIR into the allegations that Rahul Gandhi holds dual citizenship, while hearing a challenge to a January 28 order of a special MP/MLA court in Lucknow that had refused to order an FIR.

The petitioner has alleged that LoP Gandhi is a British citizen and, therefore, ineligible to contest elections or continue as a Member of Parliament, relying on purported documents and communications from the UK authorities.

He has sought action under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Official Secrets Act, the Foreigners Act and the Passport Act.

The complaint was initially filed before a special MP/MLA court in Raebareli before being brought before the Allahabad High Court.