Mumbai: The Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) has asked actor
Imran Khan to leave the country by Oct 28 following his participation in a protest called by the Tushar Gandhi-led group Hum Bharat Ke Log at August Kranti Maidan last Saturday in support of the Cockroach Janta Party’s anti-CEC stir in Delhi.
While Khan, who is the nephew of actor Aamir Khan, declined to comment on the FRRO order, advocate Parvez Memon, representing the actor, said he would be moving the Bombay high court on Friday challenging the govt’s decision. Legal experts said Khan cannot return till the order is revoked by the FRRO or stayed or set aside by the courts.
The ‘Leave India Notice’ notice issued by the FRRO to the actor on Wednesday mentions Khan as a US national, saying he contravened the provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Act 2025.
Khan was briefly detained during last Saturday’s protest before being let off. Speaking to the media moments before being detained at the protest site, he had said, “I am here as a citizen, as a person who lives in this city. I am here to see why freedom of movement is being restricted, why are people’s voices being repressed.”
The govt has invoked provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Act of 2025, which replaced the pre-Independence Foreigners Act of 1946, empowering it to ask a foreigner to leave India.
The sections invoked by the FRRO are Section 7 (2) (c) read with Section 29. Section 29 deals with the power to ask a foreigner to depart India for any violation of provisions that govern foreign nationals under the Act or based on any adverse report submitted by any authority.
The controversy erupted after former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya sought action against Imran Khan, saying the actor had no rights to protest challenging Indian govt’s policy because he was a foreigner. The defence also intends to question the allegation that Khan participated in the protest in the manner claimed by the complainant. “Let the police take out the CCTV footage of the area and everything will be clear,” Memon said.
Khan’s lawyers, however, contend that he did not participate in the protest. According to the defence, he was passing through Nana Chowk when the road was barricaded and media representatives approached him. The legal team plans to seek CCTV footage to establish his movements and determine whether he was an active participant in the demonstration. These are the defence’s claims and will need to be tested against evidence.
The police had registered a case against the protestors, including Khan, for illegal assembly since police had not granted them permission for the protest.
Minister of state for home Yogesh Kadam defended the FRRO’s decision. “When you enter a country, a visa is issued and certain conditions are stated with it. You cannot violate those conditions, and if any violation occurs, the relevant Act applies and a notice is issued,” he said.
Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi who had called for the August Kranti Maidan protest, condemned the FRRO action.
Imran Khan, who comes from a family with deep roots in Hindi cinema, is the son of Nuzhat Khan. His maternal grandfather was filmmaker-producer Nasir Hussain, while filmmaker Mansoor Khan is his maternal uncle. Imran made his debut as a leading man with ‘Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na’ (2008), produced by Aamir Khan Productions. After staying away from films for nearly a decade, Imran had this year again begun making his way back to the screen.
