Lucknow, July 12 (IANS): The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has dismissed a petition challenging the election of Congress President Sonia Gandhi to the Lok Sabha from Rae Bareli.
The petition filed by Rae Bareli resident Ramesh Singh contended that Sonia Gandhi was a citizen of both Italy, her place of birth, and India where she took up residence after her marriage into the Gandhi family
Justice Tarun Agarwal, after hearing the case, said on Monday that the petitioner did not have sufficient grounds to sustain the petition and hence it was being dismissed.
The petitioner had also pleaded that Gandhi's election be set aside as she had asked the Imam of New Delhi's Jama Masjid to vote on religious grounds.
Gandhi's counsel said she had long ago given up her Italian citizenship and alleged that the petition was a "low-level conspiracy".