Rahul Gandhi Has Double Citizenship or Not? Court Asks Centre To File Report In 4 Weeks

In a significant development, the Allahabad High Court has directed the Central Government to clarify the citizenship status of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi within a span of four weeks. This directive emerged during a hearing on a petition by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who has accused Gandhi of claiming British citizenship in official documents submitted to UK authorities.

The court, led by Justices AR Masoodi and Ajay Kumar Srivastava, announced April 21 as the deadline for the Centre to report back on the matter, even though the government had requested eight weeks to prepare this status report.

Subramanian Swamy, in his complaint to the Union Home Ministry back in 2019, had charged that Gandhi's declaration of British nationality in these documents breached the Indian Constitution and the Citizenship Act, potentially equating to possessing a British passport.

He revealed to the court that although the government had issued a notice to Gandhi seeking an explanation of his British citizenship claim, there had been no response, and subsequently, no further actions were taken.

The court also received a plea from advocate and BJP leader Vignesh Shishir demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into Gandhi's citizenship status. Shishir's plea was bolstered by an earlier request for information to UK authorities by VSS Sarma in 2022, aiming to ascertain Gandhi's citizenship.

Although the UK government confirmed certain details, it refrained from providing comprehensive information, citing data protection laws and Gandhi's lack of authorization for such disclosure.

During the court proceedings, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma was instructed to update the court on the progress regarding Swamy's request and the submissions made to the ministry. "The prayer is not to decide on the substantive issues of the pending matter, whether here or in Allahabad. He is only seeking directions on his representations. Seek instructions regarding the stage of the proceedings concerning the letter," the court articulated.

This judicial maneuver follows an earlier intimation by the government to the Allahabad High Court that it was examining a petition that suggested Gandhi might hold dual citizenship. This investigation was partly instigated by emails allegedly obtained from the UK government, which were presented as evidence supporting the claim of Gandhi's British nationality.