Lucknow, April 19 (NationPress) The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, is expected to present his position in the Allahabad High Court on a petition filed by a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This petition claims that the Congress politician is a 'British citizen' possessing dual citizenship.

This significant hearing will take place before the single-judge bench led by Justice Subhash Vidyarthi, following the High Court's directive to the Uttar Pradesh Police to investigate the complaint lodged by BJP worker Vignesh Shishir from Karnataka.

On Friday, the High Court authorized the police to start an inquiry and potentially file an FIR against Gandhi.

Subsequently, on Saturday, the court modified its earlier order, emphasizing the need to provide the accused an opportunity to be heard before issuing further directions.

Previously, in 2019, a petition to disqualify Rahul Gandhi from participating in Lok Sabha elections over alleged dual citizenship was dismissed by a bench headed by the Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi.

On Saturday, Justice Vidyarthi paused finalizing the order after it was initially communicated in open court, indicating that the ruling could not be finalized without addressing the necessity of notifying the accused.

In a decision released on the High Court's official website, Justice Vidyarthi noted that during the proceedings, all parties had agreed that 'there is no requirement for issuing a notice to the proposed accused' when considering an application under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

However, before the judgment was documented and signed, the bench found a ruling in Jagannath Verma vs State of Uttar Pradesh that established an order denying a request for FIR registration is not interlocutory and is subject to revision, affirming that 'the prospective accused... is entitled to a chance to be heard before a decision is made.'

'Given the aforementioned legal context, it seems that the application under Section 528 of the BNSS should not be resolved without issuing notice to the first opposing party (Rahul Gandhi),' said Justice Vidyarthi, suggesting that the involved parties must consider this aspect.

This development is noteworthy as the bench had previously instructed the Uttar Pradesh Police to investigate and contemplate filing an FIR concerning the allegations of Rahul Gandhi's dual citizenship. This occurred while challenging a January 28 ruling from a special MP/MLA court in Lucknow that had declined to order an FIR.

The petitioner alleges that Rahul Gandhi is a British citizen, making him ineligible to contest elections or retain his position as a Member of Parliament, citing supposed documents and communications from UK authorities.

He has requested action under various laws, including the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Official Secrets Act, the Foreigners Act, and the Passport Act.

The complaint was initially submitted to a special MP/MLA court in Raebareli before being escalated to the Allahabad High Court.