Actor Imran Khan moves Bombay High Court against ‘Leave India Notice’; petition says,'act done under pressure'

On Saturday, actor Imran Khan filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court against the Leave India Notice (LIN) issued by the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) over his participation in a CJP protest on Oct 10 in Mumbai demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar. The Delhi Belly actor, who is a US citizen and is living in India as an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), was detained by Mumbai police. The actor was asked to leave the country by Oct 28.

Now, the actor has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court seeking quashing of the ‘Leave India Notice.’

Actor Imran Khan moves Bombay High Court against ‘Leave India Notice’, files writ petition

Days after the notice was issued against him, the actor has approached the court challenging the recent action taken against him, arguing that the authorities have given him no prior hearing.

According to Bar and Bench, in his petition, Khan has said that the authorities have bypassed his statutory rights as an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) and acted in a hasty response to political social media campaigns. His plea will be mentioned on Oct 19 before a division bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna.

In his plea, Khan has further contended that the notice fails to identify the specific legal provision allegedly breached, asking for the exact act offended by his action. He has been living in India for over four decades now and has been an OCI cardholder since 2006. He has sought an order to quash the Oct 14 LIN, alongside an interim stay on its operation.

"An untested allegation of minor, bailable offences cannot form the basis for removing a person from the country he has called home for virtually his entire life," the plea states.

Saying that the action taken is not through an independent application of mind, but rather an act done under pressure from social media campaigns driven by political functionaries, rather than through.

"Directing a lifelong resident to leave India on account of a brief and unjust detention, from which he was released the same evening, is wholly disproportionate," the plea states.

This is an indirect hint at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya, who demanded his deportation, questioning whether the actor was legally entitled to participate in the protest.

He has also asked the court to stop the authorities from taking any strict action against him, like deporting him, issuing a lookout notice, blacklisting him, or cancelling his OCI card.