The Allahabad High Court has deferred its order directing the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against Congress leader and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over allegations relating to his nationality, observing that a person suspected of an offence was entitled to be heard before a decision was taken in criminal revision proceedings.
High Court order for FIR against Rahul Gandhi in dual citizenship case surprising, unwarranted: Gehlot
In an order uploaded on Saturday (April 18, 2026), a Bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi said that although the decision had earlier been dictated in open court, it was held back before being formally signed after the court came across a 2014 full Bench ruling in Jagannath Verma versus State of Uttar Pradesh.
In that case, it was held that when a magistrate refuses to order a police investigation under Section 156(3) of the CrPC, such a decision could be challenged through a revision petition under Section 397. Importantly, in such revision cases, the person who may be accused of the offence has the right to be heard before any final decision is taken.
Referring to this position, the court said the present application under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) should not be decided without issuing notice to the proposed accused. “The parties need to be given an opportunity to address the court on this aspect,” the order noted.
