The Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow Bench has dismissed as withdrawn a writ petition seeking to challenge Rahul Gandhi’s right to continue as a Lok Sabha member on the ground that he was allegedly a British citizen.
A Division Bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Abhdesh Kumar Chaudhary passed the order on August 31, 2026, after the petitioner appearing in person sought permission to withdraw the case.
Background of the Case
Ashok Pandey and another petitioner had approached the High Court seeking a writ of quo warranto, a court order used to question a person’s legal authority to hold a public office. The petition alleged that Rahul Gandhi, described in the petition as “Rahul Gandhi @ Raul Vinci”, was not an Indian citizen but a citizen of Great Britain.
The Court noted that similar citizenship-related petitions had previously been filed in 2015 and 2019. In the 2015 case, the Court had held that the appropriate remedy lay before the Central Government under Section 9(2) of the Citizenship Act, 1955. A representation was subsequently filed before the Central Government in 2019 and remained pending.
Court’s Observation
The Bench noted that similar proceedings had been brought before it on several occasions, including petitions connected with the 2024 general elections. The Court said the citizenship issue was still pending before the Central Government.
The judges nevertheless gave the petitioner an opportunity to present his case.
“At the very outset, we were skeptical for entertaining this writ petition, as according to us identical prayers were made by none-else but the petitioners herein, albeit in different permutation and commutation, in at least four writ petitions as enumerated hereinabove and the fact remains that the issue relating to citizenship of the private respondent- Shri Rahul Gandhi @ Raul Vinci is still pending before the Central Government.”
The petitioner relied principally on an allegation concerning a UK-based company, Backops Limited, which he claimed had identified Rahul Gandhi as a director, major shareholder and British national.
However, the Bench recorded that the petitioner could not produce documents concerning the company’s formation, British Companies House records, or any declaration showing that Rahul Gandhi had declared himself to be a British citizen. The Court also found that a letter concerning the study of a person named Raul Vinci at the University of Cambridge did not establish the allegations raised in the petition.
Decision
After being unable to produce supporting documents, petitioner No. 2 sought permission to withdraw the petition.
The Court allowed the request and ordered that the writ petition be dismissed as withdrawn.
“In light of the submission made above, the petitioner is permitted to withdraw the present writ petition. The present writ petition as such is dismissed as withdrawn.”
The Court further directed that there would be no order as to costs.
Case Details
Case Title: Ashok Pandey and Another v. Sri Rahul Gandhi @ Raul Vinci, New Delhi and 2 Others
Case Number: Writ-C No. 5447 of 2026
Judges: Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Abhdesh Kumar Chaudhary
Decision Date: August 31, 2026
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