Delhi court issues notice to Sonia Gandhi, Delhi Police on plea alleging forgery in electoral roll inclusion
Delhi court notice Sonia Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi electoral roll case: The petitioner has alleged that Sonia Gandhi's name was in the electoral roll of the New Delhi parliamentary constituency before attaining citizenship, which means certain documents must have been forged.
4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Dec 9, 2025 03:42 PM IST
Delhi court notice Sonia Gandhi: According to the plea filed by Tripathi, Gandhi's name was included in the electoral roll of the New Delhi constituency in 1980 even though she became a citizen of India only in April 1983.
Sonia Gandhi voter list dispute: A Delhi court Tuesday issued notices to former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Delhi Police on a plea challenging a magisterial court order refusing to order an FIR against her for alleged inclusion of her name in the electoral roll three years before she became an Indian citizen.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne while hearing the criminal revision petition issued the notice after hearing submissions from senior advocate Pavan Narang. He scheduled the next hearing of the matter for January 6. The criminal revision plea has been filed by advocate Vikas Tripathi, vice president of the Central Delhi Court Bar Association challenging the order of additional chief judicial magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia dated September 11.
Background
ACJM Chaurasia while dismissing the petition had observed that he could not encroach upon the territory exclusively ordained for the Election Commission of India and the central govt, as citizenship was the exclusive relationship between a sovereign state and its subjects. The judge had also pulled up the complainant saying such a course amounts to “misuse of the process of law” as the fundamental ingredients necessary to constitute the alleged offences—cheating, forgery, and others—are “conspicuously lacking.”
The order of ACJM Chaurasiya, however, said, “… the fundamental ingredients necessary to constitute the alleged offences are conspicuously lacking. Mere bald assertions, unaccompanied by the essential particulars required to attract the statutory elements of cheating or forgery, cannot substitute a legally sustainable accusation as informant is merely relying only upon extract of electoral roll which is photocopy of photocopy of alleged extract of uncertified electoral roll of the year 1980.”
The order continued, “In these circumstances, it becomes manifest that the present complaint has been fashioned with the object of clothing this Court with jurisdiction through allegations which are legally untenable, deficient in substance, and beyond the scope of this forum’s authority.”
Following the dismissal, Tripathi filed a criminal revision petition challenging the order.
According to the plea filed by Tripathi, Gandhi’s name was included in the electoral roll of the New Delhi constituency in 1980 even though she became a citizen of India only in 1983. He alleged that her name was included in the electoral roll in 1980, deleted in 1982, and then included again in 1983.
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In his revision plea, Tripathi said that the ACJM “lost sight of the fact that illegal acts of forgery of documents was committed by the known and unknown persons” including Gandhi. His plea further said that her name was added in public documents despite the fact that she was not even a citizen of India at that point of time.
Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Pavan Narang submitted before the court that the fact that Gandhi’s name was in the electoral roll of the New Delhi parliamentary constituency before attaining citizenship means certain documents must have been forged. Informing the court that the petitioner visited the police with his complaint but they did not register an FIR he said that he is not asking to file chargesheet but there should be an endeavour to investigate the matter.
In September, appearing for the petitioner before ACJM court the counsel had submitted, “If she was a citizen, then why was her name deleted in 1982? Two names were deleted then by the election commission, one was of Sanjay Gandhi after he died in a plane crash, and the other was of Sonia Gandhi.” He had said that the election commission must have found something wrong prompting deletion of her name from the electoral rolls.
“Her name is included in the statutory records of the Election Commission, which gives the right only to citizens of India and not to anyone else. What documents were given to the EC when her name got included in 1980? That clearly shows that some forgery has happened and a public authority has been cheated,” Narang had earlier argued.
Vineet Upadhyay is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, where he leads specialized coverage of the Indian judicial system.
Expertise
Specialized Legal Authority: Vineet has spent the better part of his career analyzing the intricacies of the law. His expertise lies in "demystifying" judgments from the Supreme Court of India, various High Courts, and District Courts. His reporting covers a vast spectrum of legal issues, including:
Constitutional & Civil Rights: Reporting on landmark rulings regarding privacy, equality, and state accountability.
Criminal Justice & Enforcement: Detailed coverage of high-profile cases involving the Enforcement Directorate (ED), NIA, and POCSO matters.
Consumer Rights & Environmental Law: Authoritative pieces on medical negligence compensation, environmental protection (such as the "living person" status of rivers), and labor rights.
Over a Decade of Professional Experience: Prior to joining The Indian Express, he served as a Principal Correspondent/Legal Reporter for The Times of India and held significant roles at The New Indian Express. His tenure has seen him report from critical legal hubs, including Delhi and Uttarakhand. ... Read More
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
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Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.
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In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.
1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.
2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.
3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.
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Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.
X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ... Read More
