On February 19, 2025, the Delhi High Court directed the Centre to update it on the status of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s representation submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs concerning Rahul Gandhi’s Indian citizenship. A Bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela scheduled the next hearing for March 26.
The Bench stated, “List on March 26 to allow the counsel for the Centre/additional solicitor general to finalize their instructions, particularly in light of the document attached to the petition, which is a letter dated April 29, 2019, from the foreigner’s division of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, addressed to respondent number 2 (Rahul Gandhi)”. Swamy expressed his desire to ascertain the status of his representation.
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A petition submitted by advocate Satya Sabharwal contended that on August 6, 2019, a letter was dispatched to the Ministry, alleging that Gandhi had “voluntarily disclosed” his British nationality to the British government, which implied that he possessed a British passport. Consequently, Swamy asserted that the Congress leader, as an Indian citizen, had breached Article 9 of the Constitution in conjunction with the Indian Citizenship Act, resulting in the potential loss of his Indian citizenship. He stated that he had made multiple inquiries to the Ministry regarding the status of his complaint, yet no action was taken, nor was he informed of any developments. In a letter from the Ministry of Home Affairs dated April 2019, Mr. Gandhi was made aware of Swamy’s representation concerning his citizenship and was reportedly requested to provide clarification on the matter within two weeks of receiving the communication.
During the hearing on Wednesday, S Vignesh Shishir, a BJP worker from Karnataka who has filed a petition in the Allahabad High Court regarding Gandhi’s citizenship, argued that Swamy’s plea was rendered moot in light of the Centre’s statement in the Allahabad High Court.
