A PIL has been filed before the Allahabad High Court challenging Rahul Gandhi's election as an MP from the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat. The plea alleges that Rahul Gandhi, a Congress leader, is not an Indian citizen but holds British citizenship, rendering him ineligible to contest the LS Polls.

The PIL, filed by S. Vignesh Shishir, a resident of Karnataka represented by advocate Ashok Pandey, also requests the court to direct the Lok Sabha speaker to refrain from administering the oath of office to Rahul Gandhi and to prevent him from functioning as a member of Parliament until the matter of his foreign citizenship is resolved by the Home Affairs.

The PIL filed before the Allahabad High Court includes a plea requesting the issuance of a writ of Quo Warranto questioning Rahul Gandhi's authority to serve as a Member of Parliament from the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat.

The petition seeks clarification on the legality under which Gandhi holds his position, citing concerns about his alleged British citizenship which, according to the plea, disqualifies him from contesting elections in India.

Additionally, the PIL seeks an injunction to halt Rahul Gandhi's activities as an MP until the matter of his foreign citizenship is addressed by the Home Affairs authorities.

The PIL filed argues that though the Supreme Court has stayed Rahul Gandhi's conviction in the Modi Surname case, a stay on conviction doesn't entitle him to contest the election as per Article 102 read with Section 8(3) of the RP Act which stipulated disqualification for being chosen as or for being an MP.

It further contends that Rahul Gandhi's election should be invalidated because he is not a citizen of India, but of Britain, making him ineligible to be elected as an MP.

According to the PIL, Rahul Gandhi served as a director in M/s BACKOPS LIMITED, and company documents filed with the Companies House in the United Kingdom state his nationality as British.

The PIL asserts that despite numerous representations made to authorities such as the Chief Election Commissioners and Chief Electoral Officers in Wayanad and Rae Bareilly, no action was taken. It claims Rahul Gandhi ceased to be a citizen of India after acquiring British citizenship, and argues that if he obtained Indian citizenship post-2003/2006, he should have disclosed this in his nomination papers.

The PIL is scheduled for a hearing next month. In 2019, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea by two private individuals seeking to bar Gandhi from contesting the 2019 General Elections until the resolution of the 'dual citizenship' issue stemming from his alleged acquisition of British citizenship.

Image source: Live Law