Mumbai, Oct 26 (PTI) The Bombay High Court would hear on Tuesday a petition filed by actor Imran Khan, a US citizen, challenging a police notice directing him to leave India by October 28 for attending a political protest.
The plea came up for hearing on Monday before a division bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna.
Khan’s counsel Venkatesh Dhond and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union government, sought for the plea to be kept for hearing on Tuesday.
The court then said it would hear the plea on Tuesday.
Khan was briefly detained during the protest at Mumbai’s historic August Kranti Maidan on October 10, organised in solidarity with the protests by the Cockroach Janta Party in Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the issue of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Mumbai Police later issued the notice to Khan, directing him to leave India by October 28.
The 43-year-old actor claimed in his petition that he had not participated in any gathering and had no association with the organisers of the protests.
While he moved the HC on October 17, Khan also received a show-cause notice from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), seeking a clarification as to why his Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status should not be revoked.
In his petition, the actor claimed the notice issued by the Mumbai police was “illegal, arbitrary, perverse and drastic”.
The petition, filed through advocate Zulfikar Memon and MZM Legal, claimed the police notice “reflects patent non-application of mind and the arbitrary targeting” of Khan as a public figure.
Khan sought quashing of the notice, and also requested the court to grant a stay of its operation during the pendency of his petition and restrain the authorities from taking any coercive steps against him.
“Not only is the notice manifestly disproportionate, if implemented, it would reduce the very principles of natural justice that the authorities are duty-bound to uphold, to nothing but a dead letter,” the petition said.
The actor claimed that he had no association, affiliation or connection whatsoever with any organisation or institution involved in organising the protest against the CEC.
According to police, Khan was served the departure order after authorities invoked provisions under Sections 7 (2)(C) and 29 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, which grant powers to the government to restrict the movement of foreign nationals and enforce their mandatory removal.
Under Section 7 (2)(C), the government has the authority to issue directions prohibiting, regulating or restricting the presence of any foreigner, specifically empowering officials to order that an individual “shall not remain in India or in any specified area therein.”
Section 29 permits the government to direct the removal of a foreign national for contravening any provisions, rules, or orders of the Act, or pursuant to an adverse security report.
Imran Khan, nephew of Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, who has starred in several Hindi films, was directed to leave the country on or before October 28, failing which deportation procedures under Section 29 may be initiated. PTI SP GK
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