LUCKNOW: The Allahabad bench of the Lucknow High Court postponed its order, passed in open court on Friday, to file an FIR against Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on the petition of a BJP worker claiming to be a British citizen.
In the order uploaded on the Supreme Court’s website on Saturday evening, the court issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi to submit his view on April 20 on the BJP workers’ petition before passing any order.
“It appears that the application under Section 528 BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita) should not be decided without issuing notice to the opposite party No. 1 (Rahul Gandhi). The parties should be given an opportunity to address the court on this aspect of the matter,” Justice Subhash Vidyarthi said in the order.
In the order, Justice Vidyarthi noted that the judgment was delivered in court on Friday in the presence of SP Pandey, Deputy Attorney General of India, and others.
The judge further noted that during the hearing, the court put a specific question to the petitioner and learned counsel in the matter as to whether it was necessary to issue notice to the other party (Rahul Gandhi).
The court added that all of them maintained that there was no need for that while deciding the application under Section 173(4) read with 175(3) BNSS.
Therefore, a certain ruling was issued in open court, as stated in the court order.
Before the judgment was written and signed, the Court came across a judgment of a Full Bench of this Court in Jagannath Verma and Others v. State of UP and Others.
In this case, the Full Bench held that the judge’s order rejecting an application under section 156(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code for registration and investigation of a case by the police was not an interlocutory order.
An interlocutory order is a temporary or temporary ruling issued by the court during the case, before the final ruling is issued. It deals with procedural, administrative or urgent matters to maintain the status quo or prevent harm, but does not address the main legal rights of the parties.
The court emphasized that a person suspected of committing a crime is entitled to an opportunity to be heard before a decision is made in the criminal review.
“In view of the aforesaid legal position, it appears that the application under Section 528 BNSS should not be decided without issuing notice to opposite party No. 1 (Rahul Gandhi). The parties should be given an opportunity to address the court on this aspect of the matter,” the court said.
The court set the next hearing on April 20.
Senior advocate SP Pandey, Deputy Attorney General of India, representing the Union government before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, said the Supreme Court’s directions will be followed.
Justice Vidyarthi on Friday issued a certain direction to the state government while hearing the plea of Karnataka-based Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker S Vinesh Shishir seeking registration of an FIR against Rahul Gandhi for alleged British nationality.
The petitioner sought quashing of an order passed by the special MP-MLA court in Lucknow on January 28, which had rejected an application directing the authorities concerned to register an FIR against Gandhi.
While rejecting Shishir’s petition on January 28, the special MP-MLA (Lucknow) court stated that it had no jurisdiction to decide the citizenship issue. The petitioner has sought registration of an FIR against Rahul Gandhi and a detailed investigation.
The complaint was initially filed in the MP-MLA’s special court in Rae Bareli. Later, on the request of the complainant, the Allahabad bench of the Lucknow High Court transferred the case from Rae Bareli to Lucknow on 17 December 2025.
The special Lucknow court dismissed the petition on January 28. The petitioner subsequently challenged this order before the Supreme Court.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court reviewed documents submitted by the petitioner regarding Rahul Gandhi’s alleged British citizenship.
The petitioner claimed that Rahul Gandhi declared himself a British citizen through a British company called ‘Backops Limited’, raising questions about his Indian citizenship.
The petitioner sought an FIR against Rahul Gandhi under several provisions, including Sections 3, 5 and 6 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, Sections 12 and 13 of the Passports Act, 1967 and Sections 14 (b) and 14 (c) of the Foreigners Act, 1946 at Kotwali Police Station, Rae Bareli District, Uttar Pradesh.
“I have heard that an order has been issued where Rahul Gandhi has been notified to appear through his lawyers and give his views in the Supreme Court. The same thing I heard last night as well. However, until we receive notice from the Hon’ble Supreme Court, Lucknow bench, we will not be able to say anything. We will respond to the notice after receiving it,” said Asif Rizvi, head of UP Congress Legal Cell.
