Recently, a key decision was made by the Allahabad High Court to order an inquiry by the Government of Uttar Pradesh regarding claims against Rahul Gandhi (Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha) regarding holding dual citizenship.
This directive was issued by the Lucknow Bench of the High Court in response to a petition requesting a review of an earlier ruling regarding the denial of registering an FIR against Congressman Gandhi.
Petition That Triggered the Court Order
S. Vignesh Shishir filed his case in court against an order from a special MP MLA court in Lucknow dated Jan 28, which had dismissed a request to register an FIR against Rahul Gandhi; at the time, he was a resident of Karnataka and was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The lower court had previously determined that it was unable to resolve any issues relating to citizenship, so the petitioner appealed the decision to the High Court in search of relief.
The Allahabad High Court indicated that due to the nature of the claims, a proper investigation should have been conducted by way of direction; therefore, the High Court directed the UP government to either conduct the investigation by themselves or forward this.
Allegations Raised in the Petition
In a petition filed by Vignesh Shihser, he alleges that Rahul Gandhi is alleged to have British citizenship and therefore is not eligible to contest elections in India and/or to be a Member of Parliament.
The petitioner stated that he has documents and emails from the British government referring to Rahul Gandhi being a British national and is therefore requesting a full investigation and registering a First Information Report against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
In support of his complaint, the petitioner has relied upon provisions of several statutory laws, including:
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (British Justice Code)
- Official Secrets Act
- Foreigners Act
- Passport Act
If the petitioner’s accusations of Rahul Gandhi allegedly having British citizenship are substantiated to be true, it follows that Rahul Gandhi would be disqualified from contesting elections and would not be eligible to hold public office in India.
Legal Journey of the Case
A special MP/MLA court in Rae Bareli, which has historically belonged to the Gandhi family, filed this original complaint. On December 17, 2025, the Allahabad High Court ordered that this case be transferred to a special court in Lucknow for further proceedings.
The court in Lucknow then dismissed the application to register an FIR, as the subject matter of the complaint was outside the jurisdiction of the Lucknow Court – it ruled that matters of citizenship could not be tried in its court. After that ruling, the petitioner sought judicial relief from the High Court again, which led to the most recent order for the investigation.
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What the High Court Ordered
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has not ruled on whether the citizenship allegation raised in this matter is substantiated or not. However, the bench has made it clear that such allegations should be fully investigated and, therefore, has issued directions to the Uttar Pradesh government to either
Conduct a thorough inquiry into such allegations; OR
Refer the matter to the relevant national investigative agency for further investigation.
This is intended to determine if there is, in fact, sufficient support for the claims made in this application.
Political and Legal Implications
The implications of moving forward with the investigation into this case could be very politically impactful. Citizenship eligibility is a fundamental requirement to hold public office in India (including being a member of Parliament).
At this point, the court has only ordered an investigation; there has yet to be a decision made regarding whether or not the allegations are valid.
According to legal experts, how the investigation process is conducted will ultimately determine whether there is any factual basis for these claims and if further legal action will be needed.
What Happens Next
The government of Uttar Pradesh will have to decide whether to conduct the investigation itself or transfer it to a federal government agency for further investigation. Also, once they complete their investigation, the authorities will determine whether they should file a first information report or continue through the legal process.
For now, the most recent development in the case is from the high court, since this case has had so much political interest throughout all of India’s politics.
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