Delhi Court Dismisses Forgery Allegations Against Sonia Gandhi

A Delhi court dismissed a complaint accusing Sonia Gandhi of forging documents to enroll in India's voter list before gaining citizenship. Despite arguments alleging fraudulent enrollment, the court found no merit to proceed with the case against the former Congress president.

The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi has rejected a criminal complaint against Sonia Gandhi, former Congress president, which accused her of document forgery to enroll in the voter list before obtaining Indian citizenship. This decision was pronounced by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Vaibhav Chaurasiya, after hearing extensive arguments from the complainant's legal team.

The complaint alleged that Gandhi's name appeared on the New Delhi parliamentary constituency voter list in 1980-81 despite her not being an Indian citizen at the time. Sonia Gandhi, who originally hailed from Italy, became an Indian citizen on April 30, 1983, under the Citizenship Act. Her voter registration sequence raised suspicions about the authenticity of the documents filed with the Election Commission.

The complainant's legal team argued that enrollment prior to April 1983 was irregular and fraudulent. They pointed to a 1985 Allahabad High Court ruling that recorded Gandhi's citizenship date as April 30, 1983, and called for a thorough investigation. However, ACJM Chaurasiya ruled that the allegations lacked sufficient grounds for a probe, thereby dismissing the complaint.

(With inputs from agencies.)