Justice Subhash Vidyarthi of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has recused himself from hearing the petition concerning the citizenship status of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. The case, filed by BJP worker S. Vignesh Shishir, sought a direction for the registration of an FIR against Gandhi based on allegations that he holds British nationality.
​The recusal comes shortly after the court had initially dictated an order in open court and then withheld it to consider legal precedents regarding the rights of a prospective accused to be heard. During the most recent proceedings, Justice Vidyarthi directed that the matter be placed before the Chief Justice for reassignment to another bench. While a specific reason for the withdrawal was not elaborated upon in the order, such actions are typically taken to ensure the highest standards of judicial impartiality and to avoid any perception of bias in politically sensitive matters.
​The petitioner had approached the High Court after a special MP/MLA court in Lucknow declined to order an investigation into the claims. The allegations center on documents from the UK's Companies House related to a firm called M/s Backops Limited, which the petitioner claims list Gandhi's nationality as British.
​With this recusal, the administrative side of the High Court will now reallocate the case to a different bench. This transition will likely result in a fresh hearing of the arguments to determine whether a criminal investigation is warranted or if the petition maintains sufficient legal merit to proceed.