Legal bid to expose Sonia Gandhi's faith rejected

Haryana, India - A court in India's northern Punjab and Haryana state has dismissed a petition seeking details of Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi's religious beliefs.

The court said the religion of an individual was "entirely personal".

A former Haryana police officer had filed a petition under the Right to Information Act seeking the details from the Census office.

Hindu hardline opposition parties have often raised questions about Italian-born Sonia Gandhi's faith.

They have questioned Mrs Gandhi's right to rule a country where a vast majority of the population is Hindu.

Mrs Gandhi was born a Roman Catholic. Her husband, late Rajiv Gandhi, had mixed parentage.

His father was a Parsi while his mother, former prime minister Indira Gandhi, was a Hindu.