The Bombay High Court will hear on October 26 a petition filed by actor Imran Khan, a US citizen, challenging a police notice directing him to leave India by October 28 for allegedly attending a political protest.
Senior counsel Venkatesh Dhond, appearing for Khan, mentioned the plea before a bench comprising Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna on Monday, seeking an urgent hearing.
Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the Union government, sought time to respond, stating that he had received a copy of the petition only on Monday morning.
The court subsequently scheduled the hearing for October 26. Dhond requested an earlier date, pointing out that Khan had been directed to leave the country by October 28.
The bench asked whether any other criminal cases were pending against Khan. Dhond replied in the negative.
“He has no criminal antecedents, and no case has been filed or is pending against him. He has been living in India since he was two years old. He did not even attend any protest. He had reached halfway when he was detained by the police and then let go,” Dhond submitted.
The court agreed to hear the matter on October 26 and directed Khan to implead the Maharashtra government as a respondent in the petition.
The 43-year-old actor was briefly detained during a demonstration at Mumbai’s historic August Kranti Maidan on October 10. The protest was linked to demonstrations demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) issue.
In his petition, Khan claimed that he had not participated in the gathering and had no association with the organisers of the protest.
He approached the High Court on October 17. Around the same time, he also received a show-cause notice from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), seeking an explanation as to why his Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status should not be revoked, his lawyer Zulfiquar Memon said.
Khan described the police notice directing him to leave India as “illegal, arbitrary, perverse and drastic”.
The petition, filed through advocate Memon and MZM Legal, alleged that the notice reflected “patent non-application of mind and the arbitrary targeting” of the actor because of his public profile.
Khan has sought the quashing of the notice, a stay on its operation while the petition is pending, and an order restraining the authorities from taking any coercive action against him.
“Not only is the notice manifestly disproportionate, if implemented, it would reduce the very principles of natural justice that the authorities are duty-bound to uphold, to nothing but a dead letter,” the petition stated.
Khan was detained briefly during the October 10 protest, which was organised in solidarity with demonstrations by the Cockroach Janta Party in Delhi. The protesters demanded CEC Kumar’s resignation over the SIR issue.
The actor maintained that he had no association, affiliation or connection with any organisation or institution involved in organising the demonstration against the CEC.
According to the police, the departure notice was issued under Sections 7(2)(c) and 29 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act. These provisions empower the government to regulate the presence of foreign nationals in India and, in certain circumstances, direct their removal from the country.
Section 7(2)(c) empowers the government to issue directions prohibiting, regulating or restricting a foreign national’s presence in India or in a specified area. Section 29 allows the government to order the removal of a foreign national for violating the Act, its rules or orders, or in response to an adverse security report.
Imran Khan, the nephew of Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, has appeared in several Hindi films. He was directed to leave India on or before October 28, failing which deportation proceedings could be initiated under Section 29.
(With inputs from PTI)