The Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) has issued a notice to actor Imran Khan, setting 28 October as the date by which he is required to depart India. Khan was arrested at a gathering held at Mumbai's August Kranti Maidan on 10 October and had been in custody for five days by the time the notice reached him.
According to the charges laid against him, his participation in the protest placed him in breach of the Foreigners Act. A petition lodged by BJP figure Kirit Somaiya set the notice in motion.
Following Khan's arrest at the protest, Somaiya put forward a claim — unverified at that point — that the actor holds United States citizenship and that his presence at the event ran contrary to the provisions of the Foreigners Act. According to a statement from the Gamdevi police station, a formal written complaint alleging that Imran Khan had violated the Foreigners Act was received there and subsequently passed on to the FRRO department for further handling.
According to an officer who requested anonymity, the matter was referred to the FRRO department, whose notice indicates that the individual — listed as a US resident — has been found to have contravened the relevant provisions and is directed to depart the country by 28 October.
A valid Overseas Citizen of India card is registered in Imran Khan's name. Holders of an OCI card — people of Indian descent who hold citizenship elsewhere — are entitled to reside and work in India on a permanent basis without needing to renew their visa. Launched in 2005, the programme stops short of conferring Indian citizenship on those who hold it.
Those holding OCI status are barred from casting ballots or standing for office, and the full body of India's legislation governing foreign nationals and border entry applies to them. Nothing in the OCI rulebook mandates that cardholders seek advance approval before taking part in a public demonstration.
Under Article 19, the rights to free expression and peaceful assembly are extended exclusively to those holding citizenship. Under Section 7D of the Citizenship Act, 1955, an Overseas Citizen of India registration is subject to cancellation by the authorities on enumerated grounds that cover matters of national sovereignty and security.
Neither a filed complaint nor a suspected breach of visa conditions, taken alone, amounts to grounds for prosecution or removal proceedings. The notice puts forward the question of whether attending the August Kranti Maidan protest amounts to a violation under the Foreigners Act, yet stops short of offering any determination on that point.
With the 28 October deadline approaching, the window for putting that question to any legal test has narrowed considerably. The rally held on 10 October formed part of a broader push by the Cockroach Janata Party, which has been pressing for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over what the party describes as irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Across the protests, more than 400 people — Khan counted among them — were taken into custody, according to available reports. According to a statement from Mumbai Police, the gathering at August Kranti Maidan was held without the required authorisation.
