New Delhi: Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has filed written arguments before Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court, terming as “politically motivated and frivolous” a plea seeking an FIR over her inclusion in the 1980 electoral roll, three years before she acquired Indian citizenship.
The reply, submitted through advocates Tarannum Cheema and Kanishka Singh before Special Judge Vishal Gogne, said the allegations are “wholly misconceived” and amount to an “abuse of the process of law”. The matter has been listed for arguments on February 21.
The criminal revision petition was moved by advocate Vikas Tripathi, vice-president of the Rouse Avenue Courts Bar Association, challenging a September 11, 2025 order of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia.
The magistrate had dismissed Tripathi’s complaint seeking registration of an FIR, holding that the accusations “lacked substance” and were based on “a photocopy of a photocopy” of uncertified electoral extracts.
Tripathi alleged that Gandhi’s name appeared in the New Delhi constituency voter list in January 1980, was deleted in 1982, and re-entered in 1983, the year she formally took Indian citizenship on April 30. He argued that the 1980 entry suggests forged documents, as only Indian citizens can be enrolled as voters.
In her six-page response, Gandhi said citizenship issues fall “exclusively within the domain of the Central govt”, while electoral-roll disputes are “vested solely with ECI”, and criminal courts cannot entertain such complaints. She maintained that the complainant had failed to produce primary records and was relying on “inferences and publicly circulating material”.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra earlier called the claims “completely false”, adding, “She voted only after becoming a citizen”.
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