(MENAFN- AsiaNet News)

A complaint dismissed by a Magistrate Court in September alleging wrongful inclusion of Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi's name in the 1980-81 electoral rolls has now been challenged by the complainant, who has moved a revision petition before the Sessions Judge.

The petition is slated for a hearing on December 9, reopening a matter that had earlier been rejected at the threshold.

Magistrate Court's September Order

In its September order, the Rouse Avenue Court had held that the criminal complaint against the former Congress president was legally untenable, deficient in substance, and beyond its jurisdiction. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Vaibhav Chaurasiya observed that the informant had attempted to "persuade this Court to assume jurisdiction which, in law, does not vest in it."

The judge found that the plea relied solely on uncertified photocopies of electoral rolls from 1980, describing it as "a misuse of the process of law by projecting a civil or ordinary dispute in the garb of criminality."

The order noted: "Mere bald assertions, unaccompanied by the essential particulars required to attract the statutory elements of cheating or forgery, cannot substitute a legally sustainable accusation."

On Grounds of Jurisdiction

On the issue of jurisdiction, ACJM Chaurasiya stressed that questions of citizenship fall exclusively within the Central Government's authority under Article 11 of the Constitution and the Citizenship Act, 1955. In contrast, decisions on electoral rolls lie solely with the Election Commission of India under the Representation of the People Acts of 1950 and 1951. Any criminal court adjudicating such matters, the court said, would amount to an "unwarranted transgression" into constitutionally reserved fields and violate Article 329.

"When the Constitution circumscribes the domain of democratic function exclusively with the Election Commission of India and the Central Government with respect to elections and citizenship, the informant cannot, by way of a private complaint, encroach upon this territory. Whatever cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly," the order stated.

Details of the Original Complaint

The complaint, filed by advocate Vikas Tripathi, alleged that Sonia Gandhi's name appeared in the 1980-81 electoral rolls before she became an Indian citizen in 1983, and sought registration of an FIR under the provisions of the IPC, BNS, and RPA for alleged forgery and fraud. The Magistrate Court dismissed the complaint in limine, terming it an abuse of the process of law. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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