Allahabad high court dismisses plea challenging Rahul Gandhi's citizenship

NEW DELHI: The Allahabad high court on Monday dismissed a petition challenging Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's Indian citizenship status.

The petition, filed by Karnataka-based BJP worker S Vignesh Shishir, alleged that Rahul Gandhi held dual citizenship of India and the United Kingdom, which would make him ineligible to contest elections under Article 84 (A) of the Constitution.

Earlier, the court had granted 10 days to the ministry of home affairs after the Centre had requested additional time to verify information from the UK government.

In 2019, the MHA issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi regarding his citizenship following a complaint from then Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy.

Swamy had alleged that a company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in 2003, and that Gandhi was listed as one of the directors and secretaries of the company.

Swamy also claimed that the Congress leader had declared his nationality as British in official documents of the UK-based company.

"It has been further brought out in the complaint that in the company's annual returns filed on October 10, 2005, and October 31, 2006, your date of birth was given as June 19, 1970, and that you had declared your nationality as British. Further, in the dissolution application dated February 17, 2009, of the above-referred company, your nationality was also mentioned as British," the notice read.