Lucknow, April 18, 2026: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has recalled its own order directing registration of an FIR against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in connection with a dual citizenship case. A revised order was uploaded on the court’s website on Saturday.
Court reconsiders earlier directive
The court said that during the hearing held on Friday, April 17, it had asked the petitioner as well as counsel for the Centre and the state government whether issuing a notice to Rahul Gandhi was necessary. The lawyers had stated that no notice was required, following which the court passed an order directing registration of an FIR.
Notice deemed necessary before FIR order
However, before the order could be formally issued, Justice Subhash Vidyarthi revisited the matter and examined previous rulings. He found that in such cases, issuing a notice to the concerned party is necessary. The court then held that passing an order without issuing notice to Rahul Gandhi would not be appropriate.
Next hearing scheduled
The bench has now directed that notice be issued and fixed April 20 as the next date of hearing.
Petitioner plans to move Supreme Court
The petition was filed by Karnataka-based BJP worker S Vignesh Shishir, who alleged that Rahul Gandhi holds British citizenship and sought action under the Foreigners Act and the Passport Act. Following the revised order, the petitioner said he would approach the Chief Justice of India with a complaint over the recall of the FIR direction.
Earlier FIR direction and case history
On Friday, the same bench had ordered that an FIR be registered against Rahul Gandhi and that the case be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Earlier, on January 28, 2026, an MP-MLA court had dismissed the petition.
Centre submits documents to court
During the proceedings, the court had also directed the Foreigners Division of the Union Home Ministry to place all relevant documents on record. The ministry submitted files related to the case before the High Court.
Claims regarding foreign citizenship
The petitioner claimed to have produced documents suggesting that Rahul Gandhi was listed as a voter in the United Kingdom and had records of participation in elections there.
Case transferred and refiled
The case was initially filed in a special MP-MLA court in Raebareli and was later transferred to Lucknow by the High Court on December 17, 2025. After the plea was dismissed in January this year, the petitioner approached the High Court, which first ordered an FIR and has now recalled that direction.
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Supreme Court’s earlier ruling cited
In 2019, the Supreme Court of India had dismissed a similar petition questioning Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship. The bench led by then Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had observed that mentioning someone as a British citizen in a company document does not automatically establish foreign citizenship, and found no merit in the plea.
