A Delhi court on Thursday dismissed a plea seeking registration of a First Information Report against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who was accused of fraudulently getting her name included in the electoral rolls in 1980—three years before acquiring Indian citizenship.
The court ruled that the allegations lacked merit.
Details Of The Case
The plea was filed by Vikas Tripathi, who sought criminal action against Sonia Gandhi, claiming that she used forged documents to get her name added to the voter list in New Delhi constituency before being a citizen of India. The petition alleged that Gandhi’s name was included in 1980, removed in 1982, and reinstated in 1983 after she obtained citizenship.
The case was heard by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasiya at the Rouse Avenue Courts. The judge reserved the order earlier and delivered the verdict on Thursday. A detailed copy of the order is awaited.
Arguments By The Petitioner
Senior advocate Pawan Narang, representing Tripathi, argued that the first condition for being a registered voter is that a person must be a citizen of India. He explained:
“First you have to satisfy you are a citizen of India… that is the first threshold. After being a citizen, another threshold is proof of residence.”
Narang further pointed out that in 1980, documentation like PAN or Aadhaar was not used, and citizenship was verified through documents such as a passport or ration card.
He questioned why Gandhi’s name was deleted from the electoral roll in 1982, stating, “Only 2names were deleted at that time—one was Sanjay Gandhi’s, as he had passed away in 1981, and the other was Sonia Gandhi’s. Why was her name deleted? Because certain false documents were found, and it caused an uproar.”
According to him, Gandhi’s name was reinstated in 1983 after she became an Indian citizen, but the irregularity in the earlier listing raised suspicion and warranted an investigation.
Court’s Observation
The court, however, rejected the plea, finding no basis for proceeding with an FIR. It observed that the case lacked sufficient grounds and that the allegations were speculative in nature.
No representation was made on behalf of Sonia Gandhi during the hearing.
(Inputs By Sambhav Sharma)
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