A Delhi court on Tuesday sought responses from senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Delhi Police on a plea alleging her name appeared on the electoral rolls before she became an Indian citizen.

Special Judge Vishal Gogne issued notices while hearing a revision petition against a September 11 magistrate’s order refusing an investigation into the claim. The matter has been listed for further proceedings on January 6.

The revision plea was moved by advocate Vikas Tripathi, vice-president of the Central Delhi Court Bar Association at the Rouse Avenue courts.

His counsel, senior advocate Pavan Narang, submitted that Gandhi’s name was added to the New Delhi constituency voter list in January 1980, three years before she acquired Indian citizenship in 1983.

He alleged there was “some forgery” and that a public authority was “cheated”.

The magistrate had dismissed the earlier complaint, calling it “legally untenable” and “deficient in substance”, and held that the forum lacked jurisdiction to entertain such accusations.

The court had also said “mere bald assertions” without essential particulars could not support charges of cheating or forgery.

It observed that the plea relied only on “a photocopy of a photocopy” of an uncertified extract of the 1980 electoral roll.

The magistrate further criticised the complaint as a “misuse of the process of law” by projecting a civil dispute “in the garb of criminality” to create jurisdiction.

Reacting to the notice, Congress MP Rajani Patil dismissed the allegation as “a white lie”.

“They should come ahead with proof. If they are not sparing Sonia Gandhi, imagine what they would do to the common people,” she said.