Imran Khan: 40 years in India, now a leave order

Kiran Rao questions the Mumbai order

Filmmaker Kiran Rao has responded after Mumbai’s Foreigners Regional Registration Office asked actor Imran Khan – Aamir Khan’s nephew – to leave India by October 28. Sharing a news post on Instagram Stories, Rao wrote: “Wah, now it’s Mumbai Police?”

In a second story she pointed to how long the 43-year-old has lived in India: “40 of those years in India.” She added that he has studied, worked, succeeded, failed, loved and fought here.

Saba Azad, Hrithik Roshan’s partner, was more direct. Reacting to the notice, she wrote: “What!? This is absolute BS.”

Why the order was issued

Imran Khan holds an American passport and an Overseas Citizen of India card. The notice follows his participation in a protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party against the Chief Election Commissioner.

The order cites Section 7(2)(C) and Section 29 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act. These provisions allow the government to restrict the movement of foreign nationals and order their removal if they contravene the Act. The notice says foreign nationals are prohibited from participating in political protests or political activities on Indian soil.

Khan was briefly detained last Saturday in Mumbai with his partner Lekha Washington and cousin Zayn Marie Khan; all three were released the same evening.

From protest to petition

• Last Saturday: Briefly detained after joining the protest, then released the same evening.
• After the protest: FRRO serves a departure order asking him to leave by October 28.
• This week: A petition is expected in the Bombay High Court, possibly by Friday or Monday.

Imran Khan’s legal team, led by advocate Zulfikar Memon of MZM Legal, is preparing the challenge. The plea argues that rules do not prohibit OCI cardholders from participating in a protest, and it calls the Mumbai police notice “drastic”.

What happens next

Once the petition is filed, the plea is likely to be mentioned before a division bench of Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna for an urgent hearing.

For film fans, the case turns on a larger question: what OCI status actually guarantees. An OCI card offers long-term residency rights in India, but it is not citizenship – and that distinction is now being tested in public.

Source: The Times of India