New Delhi

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Saturday opposed a revision petition before a Delhi court challenging the dismissal of a complaint that alleged her inclusion in the electoral roll prior to acquiring Indian citizenship, with her counsel describing the plea as politically motivated and legally untenable.

The response was filed before Special Judge Vishal Gogne, who is hearing a challenge to a September 11, 2025, order of a magisterial court that had refused to order an inquiry into the allegation. After taking the reply on record, the court scheduled the next hearing for February 21.

Advocates Tarannum Cheema, Kanishka Singh and Akash Singh, appearing for Gandhi, argued that the complaint was “frivolous, misconceived and an abuse of the judicial process,” and had been filed for extraneous political reasons.

The counsels submitted that the magistrate had correctly held that issues relating to citizenship fall exclusively within the domain of the Central government, while disputes concerning electoral rolls are governed solely by the Election Commission of India.

“Criminal courts cannot assume jurisdiction over such matters by entertaining private complaints framed under penal provisions. Doing so would violate the doctrine of separation of powers and infringe Article 329 of the Constitution, which bars judicial interference in electoral processes,” the reply stated.

The response further contended that a decades-old controversy was being revived without any supporting material, noting that the complaint failed to place on record even basic foundational documents.

According to the reply, the complainant claimed that an application allegedly submitted in 1980 led to Gandhi’s inclusion in the electoral roll, but did not specify the date, content, or particulars of such an application, nor was any copy produced.

“No effort has even been shown to obtain a copy of the purported application. The complainant seeks an investigation based on speculative and motivated assertions without making essential factual averments,” the reply said.

The counsels also argued that it was misleading to assume that inclusion in the voter list necessarily follows the submission of Form 6, adding that it would be impossible to retrieve reliable evidence after more than four decades.

They maintained that entertaining such stale allegations would amount to malicious prosecution and would violate the protection of personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The original complaint was filed by advocate Vikas Tripathi, vice-president of the Central Delhi Court Bar Association at Rouse Avenue courts, alleging that Gandhi’s name was added to the New Delhi constituency electoral roll in January 1980, three years before she became an Indian citizen in 1983.

Tripathi’s counsel, senior advocate Pavan Narang, had alleged forgery and claimed that public authorities were misled.

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However, the magistrate dismissed the plea, observing that the complaint sought to invoke criminal jurisdiction through allegations that were legally unsustainable, deficient in substance, and beyond the court’s authority.