A criminal complaint has been lodged in Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court against former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, accusing her of using forged documents to obtain voter status before acquiring Indian citizenship.

The complaint, filed by advocate Vikas Tripathi, raises questions about how Gandhi’s name appeared in the New Delhi parliamentary constituency’s voter list in 1981–82, despite her officially becoming an Indian citizen only on April 30, 1983, under Section 5 of the Citizenship Act.

The matter came before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia, who heard detailed arguments from the complainant’s side. Senior advocates Anil Soni and Pawan Narang appeared for the petitioner, with Narang stressing that the issue is a legal matter, not a political one, and constitutes a cognizable offence requiring a police investigation.

According to the plea, Sonia Gandhi, then an Italian citizen, allegedly submitted forged or falsified documents to the Election Commission, misleading a public authority. Advocate Narang also noted that Gandhi’s name, along with her late brother-in-law Sanjay Gandhi’s, was deleted from the electoral rolls in 1982, indicating irregularities in her earlier inclusion.

The complaint highlights that despite approaching Delhi Police, no action was taken, leaving the petitioner to seek judicial intervention. It further relies on a 1985 Allahabad High Court judgment in Rakesh Singh vs Sonia Gandhi, which confirmed that she became an Indian national only on April 30, 1983.

The petitioner has urged the court to order the registration of an FIR, conduct a police investigation, and requisition relevant records from the Election Commission. The matter is scheduled for further hearing on September 10, 2025.