In a reply filed on Saturday through her counsel before Special Judge (CBI) Vishal Gogne, Gandhi challenged the review petition that seeks to revive a private complaint accusing her of being enrolled as a voter before acquiring Indian citizenship. She urged the court to dismiss the petition, arguing that it is based on speculative and unsubstantiated claims rather than verifiable records.
According to the reply, the complainant has relied on assumptions, media reports and personal perceptions, without identifying any specific forged or incorrect document. Gandhi denied the allegation that her name was unlawfully included in the voter list of the New Delhi constituency prior to April 1983, when she formally acquired Indian citizenship.
Gandhi further questioned the maintainability of the plea, asserting that issues relating to citizenship fall exclusively within the jurisdiction of the central government, while the preparation and maintenance of electoral rolls are the statutory responsibility of the Election Commission of India (ECI). Allowing criminal courts to intervene on the basis of a private complaint in such matters, she argued, would amount to unwarranted interference in the electoral process.
The case has its origins in a complaint filed by Vikas Tripathi, who alleged that Gandhi’s name appeared in the voter list in 1980, three years before she became an Indian citizen. Tripathi also claimed that her name was removed from the rolls in 1982 and reinserted in 1983. On September 11, 2025, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia dismissed the complaint, finding no grounds to proceed.
Tripathi subsequently filed a review petition in the Sessions Court, following which notice was issued to Gandhi on December 9, 2025. The current proceedings stem from this challenge to the magistrate’s dismissal order.
The issue has also drawn political attention, with BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya alleging in August that Gandhi’s name appeared twice on voter lists at a time when she was not a citizen of India. Malviya described the matter as a violation of electoral law, a claim the Congress has rejected.
The court’s decision on February 21 is expected to determine whether the review petition will be entertained or dismissed, potentially bringing clarity to a case that sits at the intersection of electoral law, citizenship, and political contestation.
