NEW DELHI, Dec 09: A Delhi court has issued notices to senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Delhi Police, directing them to respond to a revision petition challenging the dismissal of a probe into claims that her name appeared on electoral rolls in 1980—three years before she allegedly acquired Indian citizenship in 1983.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne heard arguments in the case filed by advocate Vikas Tripathi, Vice President of the Central Delhi Court Bar Association at Rouse Avenue. Tripathi contested a September 11 magisterial order that rejected his initial complaint, labeling it as legally flawed and an attempt to manufacture jurisdiction through unsubstantiated claims of forgery and cheating.
Background of the Complaint
Tripathi’s counsel, senior advocate Pavan Narang, had earlier urged the magisterial court to investigate how Gandhi’s name was added to the New Delhi constituency voter list in January 1980, asserting it occurred when she was not yet an Indian citizen. He described it as potential “forgery” that misled public authorities.
The original magistrate dismissed the plea, ruling that the allegations lacked essential details to invoke offenses like cheating or forgery under law. The court criticized the evidence as merely a “photocopy of a photocopy” from an uncertified 1980 electoral roll extract, deeming it insufficient to warrant criminal proceedings.
Court’s Sharp Rebuke
In a strongly worded order, the magistrate accused the complaint of misusing judicial processes by disguising what appeared to be a civil dispute as a criminal matter. “Mere bald assertions without statutory elements do not create jurisdiction,” the order stated, refusing to set criminal law in motion.
Judge Gogne has now scheduled the next hearing for January 6, allowing Gandhi and police to file responses amid ongoing political scrutiny over historical electoral records.
