Court seeks Sonia Gandhi’s reply in voter list case, next hearing on May 16

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court Saturday directed Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi to file written submissions in a criminal revision petition alleging fraudulent inclusion of her name in electoral rolls prior to acquiring Indian citizenship, listing the matter for May 16. During the hearing, the counsel for the complainant concluded oral arguments and sought permission to place on record certain documents received from the Election Commission of India (ECI). The court allowed the request and took the documents on record. It was argued that the revision petition, moved by advocate Vikas Tripathi, does not seek commencement of trial at this stage but only a direction to the police to investigate the allegations. The complainant’s counsel further contended that at the time Sonia Gandhi’s name was allegedly included in the voter list, she had not acquired Indian citizenship, raising suspicion that the inclusion may have been based on forged or fraudulent documents. Opposing the plea, Sonia Gandhi submitted that the allegations are “politically motivated”, baseless, and founded on incorrect and misleading facts.She argued that questions relating to citizenship fall exclusively within the jurisdiction of the central govt, while disputes concerning electoral rolls lie within the authority of the Election Commission. She also stated that no credible documentary evidence has been produced to substantiate allegations of forgery or fraud, and described the proceedings as an abuse of the legal process. Her counsel sought liberty to advance additional submissions on the next date of hearing, which court permitted, directing both sides to file written arguments within a week. Earlier, a magistrate court had dismissed the complaint seeking registration of an FIR, holding that judicial intervention would be barred under Article 329 of the Constitution, which limits interference in electoral matters, except through election petitions. However, in Dec 2025, a special court agreed to examine the revision plea, and issued notice to Sonia Gandhi and Delhi Police.