MUMBAI – The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted interim relief to Bollywood actor Imran Khan, holding in abeyance an order by the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) that directed him to leave the country by October 28.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna deferred the hearing to November 2 at 3:00 PM after the central government sought additional time to file its response. The Additional Solicitor General (ASG) gave an oral assurance to the bench that no punitive action would be taken against the actor until the next court date.
The legal dispute traces back to an October 10 incident at August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai, where a demonstration was organized by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Mumbai Police briefly detained Khan, his partner Lekha Washington, and his cousin Zayn Marie Khan at the site.
Following the event, former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya lodged a complaint with the Mumbai Police and the FRRO alleging that Khan, a U.S. citizen holding Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status, violated immigration laws and visa terms by attending a public political demonstration.
Acting on the complaint, the FRRO issued an exit directive on October 14, giving the actor until October 28 to leave India.
Khan challenged the directive in court through a team of lawyers-Zulfiquar Memon, Parvez Memon, Kunal Vajani, and senior counsel Venkatesh Dhond. The petition argues that the exit order is arbitrary, unconstitutional and passed without issuing a show cause notice . Khan, who has resided in India since age two maintained that as an OCI holder, the order violates fundamental procedural fairness guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
