Court Seeks FIR Over Sonia Gandhi’s Alleged Electoral Roll Inclusion Before Citizenship

A petition filed in a Delhi court claims Sonia Gandhi’s name appeared in the voter list in 1980—three years before she formally became a citizen of India.

New Delhi Chronicle Staff Reporter

New Delhi, 5 September 2025 – A plea has been presented before the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi, urging authorities to file a First Information Report (FIR) against senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi. The petition contends that her name appeared on the New Delhi electoral roll in 1980—well before she acquired Indian citizenship in April 1983, raising concerns of potential forgery.

The complainant, Vikas Tripathi, asserts that Gandhi’s name was added to the voter list in 1980, removed in 1982, and later re-entered after she naturalized in 1983. Her lawyer, Senior Advocate Pavan Narang, urged the court to authorize a police investigation under Section 175(4) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

During the hearing, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia noted that the case file—extending to over 230 pages—requires careful review. The court has scheduled the next hearing for 10 September 2025 to determine whether to direct police action or issue notices.

Tripathi’s legal counsel questioned the absence of explanation for the 1982 deletion from the electoral rolls. He speculated that the only plausible reasons might involve loss of citizenship or corrections through Form 8 filings—both of which would require the individual to be a citizen at the time.

To date, neither Sonia Gandhi nor the Congress Party has issued a response to these allegations.

WHY THIS MATTERS
• Legal significance: If forensic scrutiny reveals discrepancies in the documentation, the case could deepen scrutiny into electoral practices and citizenship verification.
• Political implications: The timing and nature of the plea are likely to reverberate through political circles, given the high-profile stature of the individual involved.