Imran Khan challenges India’s leave notice in Bombay High Court

Bollywood actor Imran Khan has moved the Bombay High Court challenging a notice directing him to leave India by October 28, describing the order as “unconstitutional” and alleging an abuse of power.

According to Gulf News, the 44-year-old actor, nephew of Bollywood star Aamir Khan, filed a writ petition on Saturday against the Leave India Notice (LIN) issued by the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) on October 14. The notice followed his alleged participation in a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar near Mumbai’s August Kranti Maidan on October 10.

Khan has asked the court to quash the notice and stay its operation while his petition is being heard.

In his petition, Khan described the notice as “non-bonafide” and alleged that it amounted to a “high-handed and grossly disproportionate abuse of power”. He argued that the Immigration and Foreigners Act (IFA), 2025, could not be used to penalise a public figure merely for being near a protest site or expressing concern about restrictions on freedom of movement.

He also argued that the action could undermine confidence among the Indian diaspora in the United States in the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) scheme. The petition further contends that removing a foreign national without due process could have implications for the country of which that person is a citizen.

Khan, a US citizen who says he has lived in India since the age of two, argued that the FRRO had treated him solely as an American national while overlooking his OCI status under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

He maintained that his OCI registration grants him a statutory right of residence in India and that he cannot be expelled without due process. He also alleged that the notice violated his rights under Article 21 of the Constitution.

According to the petition, the notice cited Sections 7(2)(c) and 29 of the IFA, 2025, but did not refer to any adverse security report. Khan also questioned the FRRO’s authority to order his removal, arguing that the restrictions around the protest site had been imposed by local police and that the location had not been designated a prohibited site by the central government.

Khan said he was returning to his car when he was apprehended after media personnel gathered around him. He denied any association with organisations involved in organising the protest and alleged that authorities had disregarded CCTV footage relevant to the incident. These assertions remain claims made in the petition and have not been established by a court.

The FRRO also issued Khan a show-cause notice on Saturday asking why his OCI registration should not be cancelled under Section 7D(e) of the Citizenship Act, 1955.

The provision allows the central government to cancel OCI registration on specified grounds, including threats to national security, sovereignty and integrity, relations with foreign countries or the interests of the general public, subject to a reasonable opportunity for the person concerned to be heard.

Khan has been asked to respond within 15 days. The notice warns that if he fails to submit an explanation within the stipulated period, authorities may presume that he has nothing further to say and proceed with appropriate legal action.

Khan was detained by Mumbai Police on October 10 after arriving near August Kranti Maidan, where demonstrators were demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of electoral irregularities. The Election Commission and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have rejected the allegations.

In his petition, Khan said he had gone to the area out of curiosity about the student protests. He said that when police informed him the area was restricted, his “curiosity ended” and he complied with their directions.

He disputed allegations that he had incited a crowd, maintaining that he had no role in organising the demonstration. He was later allowed to leave.

BJP leader and former MP Kirit Somaiya had filed a complaint alleging that Khan, a US citizen and OCI cardholder, had violated the law by participating in the protest. Following an FIR forwarded by police, the FRRO issued the Leave India Notice on October 14.

Advocates Zulfiquar Memon, Parvez Memon and Chirag Naik of MZM Legal are expected to seek an urgent hearing before a division bench led by Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi on Monday.

The court is being asked to examine Khan’s challenge to the notice and his request for an immediate stay.