CBI to hear petitioner in Rahul Gandhi disproportionate assets case on August 10: Sources

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has called BJP leader and petitioner Vignesh Shishir to appear before the agency at its Delhi headquarters on August 10 in connection with the disproportionate assets case involving Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, sources said on Friday. According to CBI sources, Shishir has been asked to appear before the Investigating Officer at 11 am.

The petition was filed by S Vignesh Shishir, a BJP worker from Karnataka, seeking action on his complaint alleging that the Congress MP possesses disproportionate assets. In another case filed by Shishir, he alleged that Rahul Gandhi held British citizenship in violation of Indian law.

Earlier in April, in a swift legal turn of events, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court stayed its own order from a day earlier, which had directed the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

The court observed that a final decision on the petition, which alleged that Gandhi holds British citizenship, cannot be reached without first granting the Leader of the Opposition an opportunity to be heard. The stay effectively defers the operation of a judgment dictated in open court, preventing the FIR from being lodged while the judicial process continues.

The petition claimed that several offences may have been committed under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), Foreigners Act, Passport Act, and other relevant statutes. Shishir also accused the Congress leader of providing information to enemy countries and obtaining a fake passport.

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court had initially ruled that a First Information Report (FIR) must be registered against Rahul Gandhi in a petition alleging dual citizenship, Additional Government Advocate Vinay Kumar Shahi said.

While Justice Subhash Vidyarthi had initially found that the allegations disclosed “prima facie cognizable offences” warranting a probe, he withheld the final signed order. (ANI)