A Delhi court has set aside a magistrate’s order refusing to direct registration of an FIR in a complaint concerning Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s alleged inclusion in the electoral roll before she acquired Indian citizenship.
The court observed that the magistrate’s order was “non-speaking” and reflected non-application of mind. It also held that the order, which described the complaint as lacking necessary particulars, suffered from a manifest error of law.
The court noted that instead of examining the request for registration of an FIR, the magistrate’s order had digressed into the issue of citizenship.
The matter has now been remanded to the magistrate for a fresh hearing. The court directed the magistrate to reconsider the arguments and pass a reasoned, or speaking, order.
The complaint relates to allegations that Sonia Gandhi’s name was included in the electoral roll of the New Delhi parliamentary constituency in 1980, before she acquired Indian citizenship in 1983. A previous magisterial order had declined to direct registration of an FIR, citing a lack of essential particulars and other legal deficiencies in the complaint.
The latest order does not decide the allegations against Gandhi on merits. Instead, it requires the magistrate to reconsider the matter in accordance with law and issue a fresh order.