'Politically Motivated': Sonia Gandhi Opposes Plea For FIR Over Her Inclusion In Voter List Prior To Acquiring Indian Citizenship

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has opposed before a Delhi Court a plea challenging a magisterial court order refusing to order FIR against her for getting her name added in the electoral rolls of 1980, three years before getting Indian citizenship, allegedly by using forged documents.

Gandhi has said that the plea is politically motivated, wholly misconceived, frivolous and abuse of the process of law.

The criminal revision petition has been filed by Vikas Tripathi seeking criminal action against Gandhi. He challenged the ACMM order passed on September 11.

In her response, Gandhi has said that the Magisterial Court rightly observed that matters of citizenship fall exclusively under the Central Government's domain while electoral roll disputes are the sole prerogative of the Election Commission of India.

The response states that Criminal Courts cannot usurp these functions by entertaining private complaints disguised under IPC or BNS sections and that such action is barred by the doctrine of separation of powers and would violate Article 329 of the Constitution, which prohibits judicial interference in the electoral process.

She has further averred that the allegations made in the plea against her have been made without any reference to the source and without disclosing any attempts having been made by the complainant to procure the foundational documents in accordance with law.

“In para 7 again it is claimed that the name of the answering respondent was added to the electoral roll pursuant to an application moved by her. There are no details/particulars; no copy is attached; and no assertion is made that any application was made to obtain a copy of the imaginary application,” the response states.

It adds: “In para 8 the complainant claims that there was an outcry from the general public in 1982 resulting in her name being deleted from the electoral roll. It is intriguing how after 43 years of the so called outcry of general public/media, the complainant records a fact in a criminal complaint supposedly on his direct knowledge.”

The Congress leader has said that it is misleading to suggest or presume that a person's name included in the roll because he or she had applied for such inclusion by way of submission of Form 6 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

“It is further added here that it shall be impossible for any person to search and place on record reliable evidentiary material after a passage of more than 40 years. It is well settled that such extremely stale allegations ought not to be entertained, as such malicious prosecution is violative of the letter and spirit of Article 21 of the Constitution,” the response states.

It is Tripathi's case that Gandhi's name was included in the electoral rolls of the New Delhi constituency in 1980, whereas she got Indian citizenship in 1983.

It is his case that Gandhi's name was deleted from the electoral rolls in 1982 and re-entered in 1983. He alleged that the Congress leader used forged documents to get her name included in the electoral rolls, counsel demanded an FIR to be registered against her. 

Vide the impugned order, the lower court had said that it cannot encroach upon the jurisdiction of the Election Commission of India by entertaining plea seeking FIR against Gandhi.

It had said that 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 Tripathi was merely relying only upon extract of electoral roll which was a photocopy of the alleged extract of uncertified electoral roll of 1980.