The Allahabad High Court recently dismissed a petition challenging the legitimacy of Rahul Gandhi’s standing as a Member of Parliament, based on allegations questioning his Indian citizenship. This petition, titled Ashok Pandey and Another v Sri Rahul Gandhi @ Raul Vinci New Delhi and 2 Others, was reviewed by a bench comprising Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary.
On August 31, the bench concluded that the petitioner was unable to substantiate claims that Gandhi was a citizen of the United Kingdom, due to a lack of concrete documentation. As the petitioner realized the deficiency in evidence, he opted to withdraw his plea, a request which the Court subsequently approved.
“In light of the submission made above, the petitioner is permitted to withdraw the present writ petition. The present writ petition as such is dismissed as withdrawn,” stated the official court order.
Initially, the Court expressed reservations about proceeding with the writ petition, noting that the matter of Gandhi’s citizenship was already under examination by the Central government. Nevertheless, upon the petitioner’s insistence, the Court agreed to review the evidence presented.
The petitioner had claimed that in 2003, Rahul Gandhi incorporated a UK-based company, M/s Backops Limited, and declared himself both a director and a major shareholder, allegedly as a British national. Despite the compelling nature of these accusations, the Court found no documentary evidence from the Registrar of Companies in Britain or any declarations confirming Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship status as British.
“The only document relied upon by the petitioner-in-person is some alleged letter of confirmation issued by the University of Cambridge certifying the study of one Raul Vinci, which according to this Court does not in any manner prove any of the allegations being contested in the present petition,” noted the bench.
Importantly, it should be noted that a separate petition regarding Gandhi’s claimed British citizenship is still pending before the High Court. In this case, the petitioner, Rajneesh Kumar Singh, represented himself, while Deputy Solicitor General SB Pandey and Advocate Ashwani Kumar Singh appeared for the Union of India. Additionally, Senior Advocate OP Srivastava and Advocate Anupriya Srivastava represented the Election Commission of India.
[Read Order]
