Imran Khan has 13 days to leave India.
Five days after the actor was detained at a protest at Mumbai’s August Kranti Maidan, the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) has served him a notice ordering him out of the country by October 28. The authorities allege that by joining the October 10 demonstration against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, he violated the Foreigners Act.
From complaint to exit notice
The notice was the result of a complaint by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya. After Imran was detained at the morcha, Somaiya alleged that the actor is a United States citizen and that his participation in the demonstration breached the Act.
The police told The Indian Express how the complaint reached immigration authorities. “A complaint was filed at Gamdevi police station stating that Imran Khan had breached the Foreigners Act. The complaint was forwarded to [the] FRRO department,” the police said.
The FRRO then acted on it. “The FRRO notice states that he is a resident of the USA and he has violated the act and has been asked to leave the country by October 28,” an officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Indian Express.
Where the OCI card fits in
Imran holds an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card. This status is the heart of the dispute, and it is often misunderstood.
What it gives: OCI cardholders are foreign nationals of Indian origin. They receive a lifelong visa to live and work in India.
What it doesn’t give: Citizenship. The scheme, introduced in 2005, does not make holders Indian citizens. They cannot vote or contest elections, and they remain subject to India’s laws on foreigners and immigration.
On protests specifically: OCI rules do not explicitly require cardholders to get prior permission to attend a public protest. However, the constitutional guarantees of free speech and peaceful assembly under Article 19 apply only to citizens.
Can the status be revoked? Yes. Section 7D of the Citizenship Act, 1955 allows the government to cancel an OCI registration on specified grounds, including sovereignty and security.
What remains unsettled
A complaint or an alleged visa violation does not, on its own, prove an offence or justify deportation. Whether attending the August Kranti Maidan protest amounts to a breach of the Foreigners Act is a question the notice raises but does not resolve. The October 28 deadline now leaves little time for that question to be tested.
Background: The October 10 protest
The demonstration was part of the Cockroach Janata Party’s campaign calling for Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Imran was among more than 400 people reportedly detained across the demonstrations. Mumbai Police have said the August Kranti Maidan protest did not have permission.