The Delhi high court on Friday directed the Centre to clear its stand on BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking directions to the Home Ministry to decide on his plea seeking the cancellation of Rahul Gandhi's citizenship.
The bench headed by acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued oral instructions to the proxy counsel appearing for the Centre to take instructions related to the case, news agency PTI reported.
“We want to have the assistance of the counsel from the state before we pass any order,” the bench said, before posting the case for further gearing on January 13, 2025.
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The proxy counsel informed the bench that the lawyer who had represented the Centre in the case earlier has been designated as a senior advocate and sought more time to be engaged in the case. The bench, which was initially inclined to issue a notice on Swamy's plea, decided to postpone hearing of the case.
What is Subramanian Swamy's complaint?
On August 6, 2019, Swamy sent a letter to the Union home ministry alleging that Gandhi had "voluntarily disclosed" to the UK government that he was a British citizen, amounted to the Congress leader holding a British passport.
{{/usCountry}}On August 6, 2019, Swamy sent a letter to the Union home ministry alleging that Gandhi had "voluntarily disclosed" to the UK government that he was a British citizen, amounted to the Congress leader holding a British passport.
{{/usCountry}}Swamy's plea to the ministry, filed by advocate Satya Sabharwal, alleged that Gandhi's declaration had violated Article 9 of the Indian Constitution, and he would cease to be an Indian citizen as per the provisions of the Citizenship Act.
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The senior BJP leader alleged that the ministry neither took any action on his representation nor informed him about its status.
Swamy informed the court earlier in August that the ministry had acknowledged his representation and asked Gandhi to respond to the allegations.
In his plea to the high court, the senior BJP leader alleged that there has been no progress in his plea since nor the ministry informed him about its status.
What does Article 9 say on citizenship?
This article clearly states that if any Indian citizen voluntarily acquires the citizenship of any foreign country, they shall no longer be allowed to hold the citizenship of India.
(With PTI inputs)