Days after his participation in a Mumbai protest seeking Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar‘s resignation, actor Imran Khan received a ‘leave India’ notice by the Mumbai office of the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) on Thursday. On Saturday, he filed a petition in the Bombay High Court challenging a notice issued by the Mumbai Police directing him to leave India.
FRRO sends notice to Imran
On Sunday, Imran received a second notice. A report from The Times of India states that the FRRO sent him a second notice, this time asking him to show cause why his Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status should not be cancelled. The notice cites his presence at the August Kranti Maidan protest in support of CJP’s anti-CEC stir in Delhi. The notice says no police permission was granted for the protest, and a case was registered against him and other protesters for unlawful assembly.
The FRRO has sought his response by 15 days, as the law provides for a hearing before any action is taken to revoke an OCI card under the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The FRRO acknowledged that FIR registration and detention by themselves are not conclusive proof of the allegations or an automatic ground for cancellation of his OCI registration, nor does participation, by itself, establish a ground for cancellation.
The previous notice
Earlier, the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) in Mumbai issued the notice, dated October 14, four days after police briefly detained Imran at a protest in Mumbai demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. A former BJP MP had complained to Mumbai Police about his participation, PTI reported.
Two laws bear on cases like Imran’s. The 2025 immigration law lets the government and authorised officials order any foreigner out of the country. The Citizenship Act, 1955, lays out separate rules for holders of an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, a status open to foreign nationals of Indian origin.
The notice, issued on the Bureau of Immigration’s letterhead, says Imran has “contravened the provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 and the Rules and Orders made thereunder”. It cites two sections of the Act as its authority: Section 7, which permits the government to order a foreigner to leave, and Section 29, which permits it to remove one.
The notice orders that Imran “shall not remain in India and shall depart from India on or before 28.10.2026”. The actor challenged the notice before the Bombay High Court, alleging that it failed to disclose any reasons or to give him an opportunity to respond to the alleged violations.
