Bollywood actor Imran Khan has received a “Leave India” notice from Mumbai Police that directs him to exit the country by October 28 on the grounds that foreigners cannot participate in protests on Indian soil.
Imran, nephew of Hindi film superstar Aamir Khan, took part in a Cockroach Janta Party-led protest against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Mumbai’s August Kranti Maidan on October 10.
The 43-year-old actor is an American citizen holding an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card.
Imran had been briefly detained by the police on October 10. The notice to leave India was issued to him on Thursday under the provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.
The actor is likely to approach Bombay High Court on Friday or Monday through his advocate Zulfiquar Memon, challenging the notice and seeking an urgent hearing before the division bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna, PTI reported.
The draft plea argues that no provision of law or rule prohibits an OCI cardholder from participating in a peaceful protest, and terms the Mumbai police notice “drastic”, the agency report added.
Proceedings have reportedly been initiated against the actor, known for films like Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na and Delhi Belly, under Sections 29 and 7 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.
Section 7 empowers the government to regulate, restrict or prohibit the entry, departure, presence or movement of foreigners in India. Section 29 deals with the circumstances under which foreign nationals can be removed from India.
Section 29 says: “The Central Government may, by general or special order, direct the removal of a foreigner from India for contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or any rule or order made thereunder or an adverse security report, and thereupon any officer of the Government shall have all reasonable powers necessary to enforce such directions.”
Imran had participated in the Mumbai protest with his cousin Zayn Marie Khan and partner Lekha Washington. Videos and photos of the actor being shoved into a police van had been circulated widely.
After his detention, Imran posted a photograph on social media sitting in the van and sporting a victory sign. “Apparently I’m going for a drive,” he wrote in the caption.
Imran told reporters the same day that he had come to the protest as a Mumbai resident and not to press any particular demand.
“I don’t have demands. 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 suppressed? That is why I am here,” he said.
Many on social media — and off it — had lauded the actor as a rare Bollywood personality to have the courage to speak his mind. The film industry has, with a few exceptions, remained silent on the countrywide anti-government protests, led largely by the youth.
“Few Bollywood actors still have a spine...,” wrote a user on X.
There was also a flood of memes, the modern-day benchmark of virality, stating Imran had at last lived up to being a “Ranjore ka Rathore” — an allusion to a crucial, and cheeky, plot point in his 2008 hit debut film Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na.
BJP leader and former MP Kirit Somaiya had, however, demanded Imran’s deportation. He had urged the police to verify the actor’s citizenship and asked whether a foreign national should be taking part in a political agitation in India.
Bollywood, true to form, has remained silent on the notice to Imran. Senior lawyer and politician Majeed Memon has, however, stood by the actor.
“The response to this is that there should be no objection to a foreign citizen participating peacefully in a protest march,” Memon said.
“He was not running an independent campaign against the government single-handedly, but simply joined a crowd of people, feeling that what was happening was wrong, against democratic principles, and harmful to the public interest.”
A Union home ministry official told this newspaper: “An OCI card does not confer the political rights available to Indian citizens.”
He said that the freedomof speech and expressionand the right to assemble peacefully, which Indian citizens enjoy under the Constitution, do not extend toforeign nationals.
“However, a complaint or an alleged visa violation doesn’t by itself establish an offence or justify deportation,” the official said.
“The law requires giving a person a reasonable opportunity to be heard before their OCI registration is cancelled under Section 7D (of the Immigration and Foreigners Act).”
In 2011, Imran had spoken about being a US citizen, voicing his intention to secure an Indian passport.
“I am trying to get an Indian passport. The official proceedings are on. I hope I acquire it soon as some big things are on their way. I feel it is my duty to serve my country,” he had said then.
“I cannot vote here because I am not a citizen, but I do take part in elections by creating awareness about the importance of voting, because I feel I am a part of this country.”
Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, a staunch supporter of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had been a Canadian citizen till August 2023.
Imran, whose last role as a Bollywood leading man was the 2015 box-office dud Katti Batti, took a sudden break from acting, citing burnout and a desire to drop out of the rat race.
Earlier this year, he appeared in a cameo in the comedy caper Happy Patel: Khatarnaak Jasoos, directed by Vir Das and produced by uncle Aamir.
Imran is scheduled to make a comeback with the Netflix film Adhure Hum Adhure Tum, co-starring Bhumi Pednekar.
The October 10 protest wasn’t the first time Imran had spoken against the system. In July, he had criticised the Delhi Police action against students protesting the NEET exam paper leak.
Reacting to reports of the protesters being baton-charged, he had spoken about students working hard only to feel the system had failed them, and about the frustration of those who felt their voices were not being heard.
In 2015, Aamir had faced a fierce backlash after revealing that a growing sense of fear and intolerance in India had left him “alarmed”.
(Additional reporting by Imran Ahmed Siddiqui from New Delhi)