The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition seeking directions to the Centre and Election Commission to bar Congress chief Rahul Gandhi from contesting the Lok Sabha elections till allegations over his citizenship were resolved.
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition seeking directions to the Centre and Election Commission to bar Congress chief Rahul Gandhi from contesting the Lok Sabha elections till allegations over his citizenship were resolved.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi rejected the contention of the petitioners, who said that in a form along with the annual data of a UK-based company in 2005-06, it was allegedly mentioned that Gandhi is a British citizen.
“If some company in some form mentions his nationality as British, does he become a British citizen,” the bench also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna told the petitioners.
The plea, which was filed by Delhi residents Jai Bhagwan Goyal and C P Tyagi, was mentioned before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.
In their plea, petitioners said they were “social and public spirited persons” and pointed out that as per section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1981, only Indian citizens are entitled to register a political party. The duo alleged that the Congress chief was contesting polls “despite prima facie evidence of his loss of Indian citizenship” and added that he “has acquired British citizenship voluntarily”.
Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued a notice to Gandhi in connection with a complaint filed by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy raising questions over his citizenship.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi rejected the contention of the petitioners, who said that in a form along with the annual data of a UK-based company in 2005-06, it was allegedly mentioned that Gandhi is a British citizen.
“If some company in some form mentions his nationality as British, does he become a British citizen,” the bench also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna told the petitioners.
The plea, which was filed by Delhi residents Jai Bhagwan Goyal and C P Tyagi, was mentioned before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.
In their plea, petitioners said they were “social and public spirited persons” and pointed out that as per section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1981, only Indian citizens are entitled to register a political party. The duo alleged that the Congress chief was contesting polls “despite prima facie evidence of his loss of Indian citizenship” and added that he “has acquired British citizenship voluntarily”.
Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued a notice to Gandhi in connection with a complaint filed by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy raising questions over his citizenship.