Mumbai’s Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) has directed actor Imran Khan, a US citizen who holds an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, to leave the country by October 28. The notice, issued on Thursday, cites alleged violations of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, the new law that took effect on September 1, 2025.
Khan has not been charged with a criminal offence at this stage. But the FRRO, an agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has warned that failing to comply could make him liable for criminal prosecution under immigration law.
What led to the notice
On October 10, Khan joined a demonstration at August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai, organised by Tushar Gandhi in support of a Citizens for Justice and Peace campaign demanding the resignation of the chief election commissioner. Mumbai Police detained several participants, including Khan, saying the gathering did not have prior police permission.
Before his detention, Khan told reporters,
“I am here as a citizen, to see why freedom of movement has been restricted and why people’s voices are being oppressed.”
The legal provisions cited
Five days later, the FRRO sent a notice under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, which consolidated four older laws: the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920; the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939; the Foreigners Act, 1946; and the Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act, 2000.
The notice invokes two sections:
- Section 7(2)(c) — empowers the Union government to prohibit, regulate or restrict the entry, presence or continued stay of foreign nationals.
- Section 29 — allows removal of a foreigner for contravention of the Act, breach of visa or OCI conditions, or an adverse security report.
Why the law is dividing experts
Former Punjab special chief secretary KBS Sidhu argues that fundamental rights under Article 19, including speech and assembly, are available to Indian citizens alone, though Articles 14 and 21 still protect a foreign national as a person. In that view, if Khan breached his stay conditions, the home ministry’s immigration machinery is within its rights.
Senior advocate Majeed Memon sees the case differently.
“Without any specific allegation against him, his mere presence in the crowd should not cause restlessness for the establishment,”
Memon said, adding that the government may have responded because Khan is a public figure.
Advocate Ankur Sharma noted that foreign nationals are expected to stay away from political activity, and an anonymous Delhi-based lawyer said an adverse intelligence report from Mumbai Police’s Special Branch would strengthen the government’s position in court.
What happens next
Khan’s counsel, Parvez Memon of MZM Legal, says the team is drafting a writ petition to challenge the FRRO order in the Bombay High Court. If the court agrees to hear the matter, it could decide whether to pause the October 28 deadline while the notice is tested.
Khan, born in Wisconsin in 1983, has held OCI status under the Citizenship Act, 1955. He debuted in 2008 with Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na and went on to star in I Hate Luv Storys, Mere Brother Ki Dulhan and Delhi Belly.
Source: Hindustan Times