Allahabad HC stays its order directing registration of FIR against Rahul Gandhi
NEW DELHI: The Allahabad High Court on Saturday stayed its order directing registration of an FIR against Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, in the case of alleged dual citizenship.
Staying the FIR order issued on Friday, the high court stated that no decision could be made without hearing the prospective accused. The operation of the order dated April 17 was halted before it was typed and signed.
According to Live Law, a bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi withheld the FIR verdict after coming across the full bench judgment of the high court in the case of Jagannath Verma and others Vs State of U.P. and others 2014.
In that judgment, the court had held that “Magistrate’s order rejecting an application under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. for the registration of a case and for investigation is not an interlocutory order and is amenable to the remedy of a criminal revision under Section 397 CrPC.”
The court noted that the matter should not be decided without issuing notice to Rahul Gandhi. The matter will now be heard on April 20.
The development comes a day after the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court directed registration of an FIR against Rahul Gandhi on a BJP worker’s plea.
After the judgment, petitioner Vignesh Shishir, a BJP worker from Karnataka, said,
“The Court observed that holding a foreign nationality while contesting elections violates the Constitution, the Citizenship Act, and the Foreigners Act, and ordered FIR registration under relevant sections, including the Passports Act.”
Shishir further stated that the Standing Counsel for the Uttar Pradesh Government, Dr V.K. Singh, noted that since the matter involves multiple jurisdictions, the investigation should be conducted by a central agency.
Agencies