Criticising the petitioner’s social media posts casting aspersions against his court, the Allahabad High Court judge, who was hearing the plea filed over the alleged British citizenship of Rahul Gandhi, recused himself from the case on Monday (April 20, 2026).

The development came from the Bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad HC, who was hearing a plea filed by a Karnataka-based BJP worker, Vignesh Shishir. This court had directed the filing of an FIR against Mr. Gandhi in an open court on April 17. In a subsequent written order, the Bench noted that the Congress leader might be entitled to a hearing before any final decision is taken, citing a prior full Bench ruling that emphasised the right of a prospective accused to be heard in certain proceedings.