Actor Imran Khan has approached the Bombay High Court against a Foreigners Regional Registration Office notice directing him to leave India by October 28, seeking an immediate stay on the order and protection against deportation or other coercive action.
Khan filed the writ petition on Saturday, describing the Leave India Notice issued on October 14 as unconstitutional and an alleged abuse of statutory power. His plea seeks to quash and set aside the notice, which followed his detention by Mumbai Police during a protest near August Kranti Maidan on October 10.
According to the petition, the FRRO relied on an alleged violation of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025. Khan has also sought protection against the issuance of a Look Out Circular, blacklisting, deportation and action against his status as an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder while his case is pending.
The actor’s lawyers are expected to mention the petition on Monday before a division bench led by Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi for an urgent hearing. The petition claims that the notice was based on an FIR that remains under investigation and that Khan was not given an opportunity to respond before the direction to leave India was issued.
The case follows a complaint filed by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya after Khan was detained at the October 10 protest. The complaint alleged that Khan, a United States citizen and OCI cardholder, had violated the law. The police subsequently forwarded an FIR, after which the FRRO issued the Leave India Notice.
Khan has argued that the FRRO action was disproportionate and that no law prevents a person from merely being present at or participating in a rally or protest. He has also claimed that he had no association with any organisation involved in organising the demonstration and that he was returning to his car when he was apprehended after media personnel gathered at the site.
The petition alleges that the FRRO did not refer to any adverse security report and ignored CCTV footage. It also argues that the authority cited Sections 7(2)(c) and 29 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, without having jurisdiction to impose what Khan describes as the harshest possible consequence.
Khan’s plea further states that he has lived with his family and earned his livelihood in India for nearly four decades. It argues that his OCI status, which the petition describes as carrying a lifelong right of residence in India subject to statutory conditions, was not properly considered before the notice was issued.
Separately, the FRRO issued Khan a show-cause notice on Saturday stating that his OCI registration may be liable for cancellation under Section 7D(e) of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The provision permits cancellation in specified public-interest, security, sovereignty or foreign-relations circumstances after a reasonable opportunity to be heard. The FRRO has given Khan 15 days to respond, warning that failure to submit an explanation would be treated as an indication that he has nothing to say before further legal action.
