The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a petition alleging that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi holds British citizenship, observing that the petitioners failed to produce any document to substantiate their claims.
The petition was filed by lawyer Ashok Pandey and others, who alleged that Gandhi was not an Indian citizen and instead held British citizenship. The court noted that the petitioners could not produce a single document establishing that Gandhi had declared himself to be a British citizen.
The allegations against Rahul Gandhi have not been confirmed.
Cambridge University Letter Was Only Document Produced
A bench comprising Justices Shekhar B. Saraf and Awadhesh Kumar Chaudhary examined the documents submitted by the petitioners.
According to a Bar & Bench report, the court noted that the only document relied upon by the petitioner was a letter from Cambridge University. The bench said the letter did not substantiate any of the allegations made in the petition.
The petitioners had claimed that Rahul Gandhi formed a company called “Backops Limited” in Britain in 2003 and declared himself a British citizen in connection with the company.
However, the court noted that the petitioners were unable to produce any documents from the UK Registrar of Companies or government records to support the claim.
Court Had Earlier Raised Doubts Over Hearing Plea
The Allahabad High Court had earlier expressed doubts about entertaining the matter, noting that a complaint concerning Rahul Gandhi's citizenship was already pending before the central government.
However, following the petitioner's insistence, the court heard the matter and examined the documents placed before it.
During the hearing, the court found that the material submitted by the petitioners did not substantiate the allegations.
Petitioner Withdraws Plea
Following the court's observations, the petitioner sought permission to withdraw the petition.
The High Court allowed the request and dismissed the petition on the ground of withdrawal.
Lawyers representing the central government and the Election Commission were also present during the hearing.
Meanwhile, another case concerning Rahul Gandhi's citizenship remains pending before a different bench of the Allahabad High Court.
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