Bombay High Court Pauses FRRO's 'Leave India' Notice to Actor Imran Khan Until November 2
The Bombay High Court on Monday kept in abeyance until November 2 a notice issued by the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) directing actor Imran Khan, a US citizen, to leave India by October 28.
The court was hearing Khan's petition challenging the notice. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the FRRO, sought time in the matter. Khan's counsel Venkatesh Dhond pointed to the October 28 deadline and said no coercive steps should be taken until then. Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh gave an oral assurance that nothing would happen. A bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna then adjourned the matter to November 2, saying the notice would stay in abeyance until then.
The 43-year-old actor was briefly detained during a demonstration at Mumbai's August Kranti Maidan on October 10, held in solidarity with protests by the Cockroach Janta Party in Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR issue. The FRRO issued the departure order after authorities invoked Section 7(2)(C) and Section 29 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, which allow the government to restrict a foreign national's movement and enforce removal. Under Section 7(2)(C), officials can order that a foreigner "shall not remain in India or in any specified area therein," while Section 29 permits removal for contravening the Act or on an adverse security report. Khan was told to leave by October 28, failing which deportation proceedings could begin.
In his petition, filed on October 17 through advocate Zulfikar Memon and MZM Legal, Khan said he had not participated in any gathering and had no association with the organisers of the protests. He also received a show-cause notice from the FRRO asking why his OCI status should not be revoked. Khan called the Mumbai police notice "illegal, arbitrary, perverse and drastic," saying it reflected "patent non-application of mind and the arbitrary targeting" of him as a public figure.
He sought quashing of the notice, a stay on its operation during the pendency of the petition, and a direction restraining authorities from taking coercive steps against him. The petition argued that the notice was "manifestly disproportionate" and that, if implemented, it would reduce the principles of natural justice to "nothing but a dead letter." Khan, nephew of Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, has starred in several Hindi films.
Source: Verdictum