The Delhi High Court on Thursday scheduled a hearing for October 9 on a petition filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy, which questions the citizenship of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The case was heard by a division bench comprising Chief Justice designate Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela. The court asked the Union Government’s counsel to obtain a copy of a similar petition that is currently pending before the Allahabad High Court.
The bench remarked that it would be in the interest of justice to know the status of the petition in the Allahabad High Court before proceeding further with the matter. The court stated, “It won't be proper for two courts to deal with the same issue.” Addressing the Union Government’s counsel, the bench added, “Check what's happening there (Allahabad High Court). Get a copy of the petition.” The court emphasized its intent to avoid overlapping jurisdiction, stating, “We just want to be doubly sure that we are not taking over someone else's jurisdiction.”
Subramanian Swamy appeared as the petitioner in person, along with his counsel, Advocate Satya Sabharwal. The bench referred to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the Allahabad High Court by BJP member Vignesh Shishir from Karnataka, who has sought a CBI investigation into Rahul Gandhi’s alleged British citizenship. The day before, the Allahabad High Court had asked the Union Government to provide details about the proposed action on a representation-complaint submitted by Shishir under Section 9(2) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, requesting the cancellation of Gandhi’s citizenship.
In his petition before the Delhi High Court, Swamy has requested the Union Government to submit a status report on his complaint against Gandhi. In August 2019, Swamy had written to the Centre alleging that Rahul Gandhi had voluntarily disclosed to the British Government that he was a British citizen, which Swamy argues is a violation of Indian law, particularly Article 9 of the Constitution of India, as well as the Indian Citizenship Act, 1955.
Article 9 of the Constitution states that no person shall be deemed a citizen of India if they have voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign state. Swamy has claimed that Gandhi, by holding a British passport and disclosing his British nationality, should cease to be an Indian citizen. In his August 2019 letter to the Centre, Swamy referred to a company called Backops Limited, which was registered in the United Kingdom in 2003 with Gandhi listed as one of the directors and secretaries. Swamy further alleged that in the company’s annual returns filed in 2005 and 2006, Gandhi’s nationality was recorded as British, and his date of birth as June 19, 1970.
Swamy expressed frustration over the Central Government’s lack of response to his complaint, despite his repeated representations seeking an update. His plea before the court seeks a directive for the Centre to decide his complaint and provide the final conclusion or order regarding the matter.
In a related case in May 2019, the Supreme Court had dismissed a petition that sought to prevent Rahul Gandhi from contesting the 2019 General Elections until the issue of his alleged dual citizenship was resolved. The Supreme Court had remarked, “Some paper says he has British citizenship so he becomes a British citizen? Merely because a company speaks of him as a British citizen, so it means he has British citizenship?”
The case is titled - Subramanian Swamy v. Union of India & Anr.
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