Delhi Court Reserves Order on Plea Against Sonia Gandhi Over Voter Roll Allegations
Petition claims Congress leader’s name was added to voter list in 1980, before she became an Indian citizen
NEW DELHI, Sept 11: A Delhi court on Wednesday reserved its order on a petition seeking legal action against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi over allegations that her name was unlawfully included in the electoral rolls years before she acquired Indian citizenship.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia stated in court, “I am reserving the order,” after hearing arguments on the matter. The petition was filed by complainant Vikas Tripath, represented by senior advocate Pavan Narang.
According to the plea, Sonia Gandhi’s name was added to the voter list of the New Delhi constituency in January 1980, even though she had not yet been granted Indian citizenship. Narang contended that this amounted to a violation of law, stressing that citizenship is a prerequisite for enrollment in the electoral rolls. “First, you have to satisfy the threshold of citizenship, then you can become a resident of an area. If she was a citizen, why was her name deleted in 1982?” he argued.
The petitioner further alleged that Gandhi’s name was removed from the rolls in 1982, the same year her husband, Sanjay Gandhi, died in a plane crash, and that her name was restored only in 1983—after she formally became an Indian citizen. This, according to the complaint, indicated a pattern of forgery and cheating of public authorities.
The plea calls for a police probe into the alleged irregularities, citing provisions under Section 175(4) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Narang told the court that the request was limited to directing the police to register an FIR under relevant sections. “Whether the offences are made out or not is for the police to investigate,” he added.
The court’s reserved order is expected to determine whether the allegations merit further investigation by law enforcement agencies.
