Bombay HC stays FRRO notice directing actor Imran Khan to leave India
The court kept the departure order in abeyance till Nov 2 after the govt assured it would take no coercive action against the actor, a US citizen, until the next hearing
Mumbai, Oct 27 (PTI) In an interim relief to Imran Khan, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday kept a Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) notice in abeyance till November 2, directing the Bollywood actor, a US citizen, to leave India by October 28.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna adjourned the matter after Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh assured the court that the government would not take coercive action against the 43-year-old actor until the next hearing date.
The court was scheduled to hear Khan's petition challenging the FRRO order on Tuesday. However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the FRRO, sought time.
When Khan's counsel Venkatesh Dhond cited the October 28 deadline and urged that no coercive steps be initiated in the interim, the bench recorded Singh's assurance and deferred the hearing till Monday next.
"The impugned notice shall stay in abeyance until then," the high court said in its order.
The FRRO had issued the departure order under Sections 7(2)(C) and 29 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, which empower the government to restrict the movement of foreign nationals and enforce mandatory removal.
Under the notice, Khan was directed to leave the country on or before October 28, failing which deportation procedures would be initiated.
The action followed Khan's brief detention during an October 10 demonstration at Mumbai's historical August Kranti Maidan. The rally was organised in solidarity with an agitation by the Cockroach Janta Party demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR issue.
In his petition, filed through advocate Zulfiquar Memon and MZM Legal, Khan claimed he had not participated in the gathering and had no association or affiliation with its organisers.
Terming the notice "illegal, arbitrary, perverse and drastic," the actor alleged that the action reflected "patent non-application of mind and the arbitrary targeting" of a public figure.
"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 stated.
Khan, nephew of Bollywood actor Aamir Khan, sought the quashing of the FRRO notice, a stay on its operation during the pendency of the petition, and a direction restraining the authorities from taking any coercive measures against him.
In addition to the departure order, Khan also received a separate show-cause notice from the FRRO seeking clarification on why his Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status should not be revoked.
An OCI cardholder does not enjoy freedom granted under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution. PTI