Rahul Gandhi dual citizenship row: Allahabad HC withholds FIR order against Lok Sabha LoP—What did the court say?

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Saturday put on hold its order issued a day earlier, which had directed the filing of a First Information Report (FIR) against Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi.

The court noted that a final ruling on the petition, alleging that Gandhi holds British citizenship, cannot be made without first giving the Leader of the Opposition a chance to present his side. With this stay, the implementation of Friday’s open-court order has been paused, ensuring that the FIR will not be registered while the matter remains under judicial consideration.

The case revolves around a petition filed by Vignesh Shishir, who approached the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court after a special MP-MLA court in Lucknow declined to hear his plea in January 2026. In his petition, he accused Rahul Gandhi of holding British citizenship in violation of Indian law.

What did the court say?

“Court had dictated a judgment in the open court. However, before the judgment could be typed and signed, the Court came across a judgment rendered by a Full Bench of this Court in the case of Jagannnath Verma and others Vs. State of U.P. and others: 2014 SCC OnLine Alld 11859, wherein the Full Bench has held that an order of a Magistrate rejecting an application under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. for the registration of a case by the police and for investigation, is not an interlocutory order,” BarandBench quoted the court as saying.

It mentioned, “Such an order is amenable to the remedy of a criminal revision under Section 397. In proceedings in revision under Section 397, the prospective accused or, as the case may be, the person who is suspected of having committed the crime, is entitled to an opportunity of being heard before a decision is taken in the criminal revision.”

The court stated that all parties submitted there is no requirement to issue a notice to a proposed accused while deciding an application under Section 173(4) read with Section 175(3) of the BNSS, and therefore, no notice needs to be served to the proposed accused while considering an application under Section 528 of the BNSS challenging the validity of an order that had rejected such an application.

Petitioner called earlier order as ‘landmark judgment’

The plea alleged that multiple offences may have been committed under laws including the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, the Foreigners Act, the Passport Act, along with other relevant statutes. Shishir also claimed that the Congress leader had shared information with hostile countries and obtained a fraudulent passport.

Earlier, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court had directed that a First Information Report (FIR) be registered against Rahul Gandhi in connection with the petition alleging dual citizenship, according to Additional Government Advocate Vinay Kumar Shahi.

While Justice Subhash Vidyarthi had initially observed that the allegations pointed to “prima facie cognizable offences” requiring investigation, he held back from issuing the final signed order on Saturday.

Petitioner Vignesh Shishir termed the earlier order as a “landmark judgment,” arguing that possessing foreign citizenship while contesting elections in India violates the Constitution, the Citizenship Act, and the Foreigners Act.

“The Allahabad High Court at Lucknow Bench has given a very landmark judgment and order directing the registration of FIR against Rahul Gandhi, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Raebareli constituency as well as Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha, with regard to his British nationality case,” Shishir told ANI.

He added, "The High Court has prima facie found that Rahul Gandhi is possessing British nationality and it is illegal as per the Constitution of India, as per the Citizenship Act and the Foreigners Act for any foreign citizen to possess Indian nationality."

"As well as at the same time, he has contested elections several times as MP from Raebareli, from Wayanad as well as from Amethi, which is a criminal offence, and the High Court has directed registration of FIR under various sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita as well as the Passport Act," he further said.