A Delhi court has instructed Sonia Gandhi, the Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party, to submit her written submissions in a criminal revision petition. This petition alleges that her name was fraudulently included in the electoral rolls before she became an Indian citizen. The court set the next hearing for May 16 and asked both parties to file their written submissions within a week.
During the hearing, the complainant’s counsel completed oral arguments and requested to present certain documents obtained from the Election Commission of India. The court granted permission for these documents to be included in the records. The revision petition, filed by advocate Vikas Tripathi, seeks a police investigation into the allegations rather than the commencement of a trial at this stage.
It was argued that when Sonia Gandhi’s name was added to the voter list, she had not yet acquired Indian citizenship. This raised suspicions of potential inclusion based on forged or fraudulent documents. Sonia Gandhi’s counsel requested the liberty to present additional submissions at the next hearing, which the court allowed. The court directed both sides to submit their written arguments within a week and scheduled further consideration for May 16.
In a previous order from December last year, Special Judge Vishal Gogne agreed to review the revision plea and issued notices to Sonia Gandhi and the Delhi Police. The matter was listed for further hearing. The Magistrate Court had earlier dismissed a complaint seeking an FIR, citing limitations on judicial interference in electoral matters as per Article 329 of the Constitution.
