New Delhi, 13 August (H.S.):

The Sessions Court at Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Courts on Thursday deferred its decision on a plea seeking registration of an FIR against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi over the alleged inclusion of her name in the electoral roll in 1980. The matter will now be decided by the newly assigned judge, Prashant Kumar, following the transfer of Judge Vishal Gogne, who had been hearing the case. The court had reserved its order on July 25.

Advocate Vikas Tripathi has challenged before the Sessions Court an order of the magistrate’s court dismissing his plea seeking an FIR against Sonia Gandhi. On December 9, 2025, the court had issued notices to Sonia Gandhi and the Delhi Police in connection with the matter.

Earlier, on September 11, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia had dismissed the plea. The petition alleged that Sonia Gandhi’s name had been included in the electoral roll for the New Delhi Assembly constituency in 1980, despite her not having acquired Indian citizenship at the time.

According to the petition, Sonia Gandhi’s name was removed from the electoral roll in 1982 and subsequently added again in 1983. The plea states that she became an Indian citizen in 1983.

The petitioner further claimed that Sonia Gandhi had applied for Indian citizenship in April 1983. It alleged that documents used to include her name in the electoral roll in 1980 could therefore have been fabricated, which, according to the petitioner, would constitute a cognisable offence.

On these grounds, the petitioner has sought a direction from the court for registration of an FIR against Sonia Gandhi and investigation into the alleged irregularities.

The magistrate’s court had not issued notices to either Sonia Gandhi or the Delhi Police while dealing with the original plea.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar