NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday questioned the Central government on its prolonged inaction regarding BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s representation over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s alleged British citizenship. The Court expressed concern over the lack of response from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), despite issuing a show cause notice to Gandhi in 2019.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela directed Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma to obtain instructions on the status of Swamy’s representation.
The court sought clarity on why the government has failed to act despite its own inquiries into the matter.
Swamy contended before the Court that the MHA had sent a show cause notice to Gandhi, demanding an explanation regarding his alleged British nationality, yet no response was received. He argued that the government had neither pursued the matter further nor taken any decisive action.
Swamy’s plea is based on documents from a UK-based company, Backops Limited, where Gandhi was reportedly listed as a British citizen in annual returns filed in 2005 and 2006.
The company’s dissolution application in 2009 also allegedly mentioned Gandhi’s nationality as British. Swamy has argued that this is in direct violation of Article 9 of the Indian Constitution and the Indian Citizenship Act, 1955.
The MHA had initially sought clarification from Gandhi on April 29, 2019, asking him to provide the “factual position” within 15 days. However, no further updates have been made public. Complicating matters, a similar petition is pending before the Allahabad High Court. Filed by one S. Vignesh Shishir, the plea seeks a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into Gandhi’s citizenship status.