.jpg)
On Thursday, the Allahabad High Court heard a petition challenging Congressman Rahul Gandhi's citizenship and ordered the Union government to be included in the case. The seriousness of the allegations revealed was further demonstrated by the court's request for senior Ministry of Home Affairs officials to attend with pertinent records.
Senior advocate S B Pandey, representing the Center, requested that the case not be heard in public during the hearing before a bench of Justice Rajiv Singh at the Lucknow bench, citing the extremely sensitive nature of documents received from the Home Ministry. The court held the sessions in chambers after granting the request.
The court ordered Under Secretary Vivek Mishra and Assistant Section Officer Pranav Rai from the Home Ministry to show up with the relevant documents after the in-camera session. The bench gave the documents back to the Under Secretary after reviewing them.
Additionally, S Vignesh Shishir, the petitioner, was permitted by the court to include the Center as a party in the case. It clarified that the case is still in the admission stage, rejecting his plea to have it treated as "part heard."
The case is scheduled to be heard again on April 6.
Shishir, a Karnataka-based employee of the Bharatiya Janata Party, submitted the petition. He has contested a ruling issued on January 28 by a Special MP-MLA Court in Lucknow that denied his request to register a formal complaint against Rahul Gandhi, the current Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The petitioner has made grave accusations against Gandhi under a number of law provisions in his plea, requesting instructions for the filing of a formal complaint and a thorough inquiry.
