Actor Imran Khan is set to get temporary relief in his legal battle against a notice directing him to leave India by October 28. The Bombay High Court on Monday deferred the hearing on his petition until November 2 at 3 pm after the Centre sought more time. The government assured the court that no coercive action would be taken against the actor in the meantime, and the notice would remain in abeyance until the next hearing.
The case stemmed from an incident on October 10, when Mumbai Police detained the actor near August Kranti Maidan. He argued that the notice was arbitrary, violated Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, and had been issued without giving him a prior hearing or following the proper show-cause procedure. The actor, who is a US citizen and holds an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, has challenged the notice, calling it arbitrary and questioning the grounds on which it was issued. The actor, a US citizen with an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, was at the spot during a protest seeking Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He was detailed along with his partner Lekha Washington and his cousin Zayn Marie Khan. He challenged the notice through a writ petition, Imran Khan Pal v. Union of India & Ors., filed by lawyers Zulfiquar Memon, Parvez Memon and Kunal Vajani. His lawyers argued that the authorities had neither conducted an inquiry nor issued a show-cause notice or given him a chance to explain his position before asking him to leave India. The petition also alleged that the action stemmed from a politically motivated complaint and showed “patent non-application of mind. The actor also cited his longstanding ties to India, where he had lived since the age of two. He pointed to his family, marriage, education and professional life in the country, while stressing that he had no criminal antecedents. He sought interim protection against the notice and asked the court to quash it.
The development comes a day before the deadline given to Imran by the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) to leave the country.
