The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice to the Union of India on a petition filed by Bhartiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy regarding the citizenship of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
The petitioner sought direction to the Union Government to file a status report on his complaint against Rahul Gandhi.
The Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela was apprised that the Central government’s counsel has been recently designated as a Senior Advocate. Therefore, the matter has to be assigned to a new counsel.
Swamy, who was appearing in person, requested that notice be issued in the matter.
The top court of the country, however, said the Centre’s counsel should be allowed to first obtain instructions. Following the request of the counsel representing the Central government, the Bench adjourned the matter to January 13.
Vignesh Shishir, BJP leader from Karnataka and petitioner before the Allahabad High Court in the PIL seeking CBI probe into Rahul Gandhi’s alleged British Citizenship, appeared before the Apex Court today.
He apprised the Bench regarding the development on his petition.
In August 2019, Swamy wrote a letter to the Centre on alleged violations made by Gandhi in ‘voluntarily’ disclosing to the British government that he was a citizen of British nationality, amounting to holding a British passport.
The BJP leader alleged that Gandhi, being an Indian citizen, violated Article 9 of the Constitution of India, read with the Indian Citizenship Act, 1955. Gandhi would lose or cease to be an Indian citizen, Swamy claimed.
Article 9 of the Constitution of India states that no person shall be a citizen of India or be deemed to be a citizen of India if he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of any foreign State.
A notice was sent by the Union government to Gandhi on April 20, 2019, with the subject “Complaint regarding citizenship.”
Swamy claimed that a company named Backops Limited was registered in the United Kingdom in 2003, with Gandhi as one of the Directors and Secretary. He further alleged that in the company’s Annual Returns filed in 2005 and 2006, Rahul Gandhi’s date of birth was given as June 19, 1970, and his nationality was mentioned as British.
He said that despite many representations made to the Centre seeking an update and the status of his complaint, no action has been taken. Swamy further sought direction to the Centre to decide on his complaint or representation at the earliest and furnish the conclusion or final order of the same.
Earlier in May 2019, the Apex Court had dismissed a plea to restrain Gandhi from contesting the 2019 general elections till the determination of his alleged ‘dual citizenship’ over supposedly procuring British citizenship.
The Apex Court had observed orally that just because a paper said that he (Gandhi) had British citizenship, he did not become a British citizen. Merely because a company mentioned British citizenship, it did not mean he had British citizenship.
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