'Court Maligned': Allahabad HC Judge Slams BJP Worker, Recuses From Rahul Gandhi Citizenship Case

Last Updated:April 20, 2026, 18:58 IST

Allahabad High Court judge Subhash Vidyarthi recuses from BJP worker Vignesh Shishir plea seeking FIR against Rahul Gandhi, cites posts maligning court dignity.

A judge of the Allahabad High Court on Monday recused from the case filed by a BJP worker seeking FIR against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his alleged British citizenship.

According to LiveLaw, Justice Subhash Vidyarthi recused while taking strong exception to certain social media posts and media interviews by the petitioner, Vignesh Shishir, noting that they cast aspersions on the Court and maligned its dignity after the bench proposed to issue a notice to Gandhi on his plea.

The judge orally observed that the petitioner had posted material on social media claiming “foul play" by the Court and that the entire episode gave an “unfair treatment" to him.

While expressing dissatisfaction over the controversial social media post, the Judge said he “regretted" hearing the case as he was being used by the applicant for his own “political mileage".

“Piche keechad uchala jana kaise uchit hai? Adalat ke against bolna sahi hai? Media mein kaise kaise statement de rahe hain…apne political akhade ka Court ko hissa bana rahe hain". (How is it justified to sling mud behind our backs? Is it right to speak against the Court? What kind of statements are you making in the media…you are making the Court a part of your political arena.)"

According to the LiveLaw, the court noted that Shishir was seeking public opinion through his social media posts on whether he should continue the matter before this bench and that he sought indulgence of the CJI in this matter.

“The messages posted on social media amount to casting aspersions on the Court…The Court is of the opinion that he has maligned the Court," the Court stated.

Meanwhile, Shishir responded that the posts were not intended for the Court but for those pressurising him to back out of this case. “I appreciated your earlier order on social media. Please see those posts also where I said that it was a landmark order. But today what is being passed is one-sided order. Plea check my other posts too," he argued.

This comes days after the Allahabad HC on April 17 pronounced the operative part of its order in open Court, directing the lodging of an FIR against the Gandhi on a petition moved by a Karnataka BJP Worker (S. Vignesh Shishir), LiveLaw reported.

News india 'Court Maligned': Allahabad HC Judge Slams BJP Worker, Recuses From Rahul Gandhi Citizenship Case

Read More