NEW DELHI: The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court will on February 19 hear an application filed under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), challenging a Magistrate Court order passed on January 28, 2026. The application seeks a direction for the registration of an FIR against Rahul Gandhi, Member of Parliament from Rae Bareli and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha for hiding the fact that he holds British passport.
The matter has been listed before a single bench comprising Justice Rajeev Singh at the Lucknow Bench. The petitioner, S. Vignesh Shishir, has sought judicial intervention after the Magistrate Court reportedly declined to register an FIR in the case.
According to the application, the petitioner has requested that an FIR be registered at Kotwali Police Station in Rae Bareli district under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, as well as under the Official Secrets Act, the Passports Act, and the Foreigners Act. The plea challenges the Magistrate’s January 28 order and seeks reconsideration by the High Court.
Court records indicate that the application questions the lower court’s refusal to direct police authorities to register the FIR. The High Court is expected to examine the maintainability of the plea and whether any grounds exist to interfere with the Magistrate’s decision.
Vignesh Shishir had filed a second appeal before the Central Information Commission (CIC) regarding the alleged British nationality of Rahul Gandhi. Shishir had sought disclosure of what he says are crucial documents related to the case, including a copy of Rahul Gandhi’s alleged British/UK passport, as well as official correspondence from the UK government to India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
This appeal came after Shishir’s previous attempts to obtain similar details through the RTI mechanism. In the past, he had submitted a formal complaint alleging that Rahul Gandhi held British citizenship, citing records from the UK’s Companies House linked to the now-dissolved firm Backops Ltd. His earlier petition had sought clarification from the government on whether the documents referenced at the time indicated dual citizenship, which is prohibited under Indian law.
