Bollywood actor Imran Khan is preparing a legal challenge to the Indian government’s order to leave the country within two weeks for participating in ongoing protests against the election chief.
The actor was detained during the protests in Mumbai on 10 October and subsequently issued a notice to leave the country.
His lawyers are expected to argue before the Bombay High Court that neither laws nor the rules governing Overseas Citizens of India expressly prohibit participation in peaceful demonstrations, according to the PTI news agency.
Khan received the Leave India notice from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office on Thursday, alleging that he had violated the Foreigners Act by participating in the demonstrations on Saturday.
“As per the notice, he has been told to leave the country by 28 October,” the Mumbai police noted in a statement quoted by the ANI news agency. “Imran Khan participated in the agitation at August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai, demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Imran Khan had participated in the agitation, despite not being an Indian citizen.”
The actor, who is Bollywood star Aamir Khan’s nephew and best known for the 2008 romantic comedy Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na, is a US citizen and holds an Overseas Citizen of India card, which allows eligible eligible foreign citizens of Indian origin to live and work in India without needing to apply for visa each time they enter the country. It does not confer Indian citizenship, however, and cardholders can’t vote or stand for election and remain subject to Indian immigration laws. OCI holders are also subject to restrictions on certain activities, including journalism and research, unless they obtain the required permission.
Khan’s lawyers said they intended to seek an urgent hearing. They are expected to argue that the “drastic” notice does not specify which provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 he stands in breach of.
“The basis of the plea is that our client Imran Khan has not violated any conditions of the FRRO Act,” the lawyers told Mid-Day. They said any cancellation of his OCI status or associated visa permission would require a separate process, including a hearing.
The notice warns Khan of prosecution if he does not leave by 28 October.
Kirit Somaiya, a senior member of the ruling BJP party, called for action against Khan, claiming the actor’s participation in the demonstrations breached the rules governing OCI cardholders and visa conditions.
“Imran Khan should be charged for taking part in illegal political agitation, violation of OCI provisions, visa conditions,” Mr Somaiya wrote in a post on X.
“Foreign Citizen don’t have similar rights as Indian citizens.”
अमेरिकी इम्रान खान, पैसा पाकिस्तान विदेशचा आणि हिंदुस्थानात अराजकता माजवण्याचा कटकारस्थान
— Kirit Somaiya (@KiritSomaiya) October 15, 2026
इम्रान खान, विदेशी नागरिक हिंदुस्थानातल्या कोणत्याही राजकीय कार्यक्रमात सहभागी होऊ शकत नाही.
इम्रान खानला 28 ऑक्टोबरपर्यंत भारत सोडावा लागणार
आणि असे जे कोणी असेल मग तो इम्रान असेल,…
The following day, Mr Somaiya said he had visited a police station in Mumbai to seek action against the actor and had filed a complaint with the FRRO’s immigration division.
Khan was among more than 400 people detained by the Mumbai police during the protests at August Kranti Maidan.
His partner, actor Lekha Washington, and cousin Zayn Marie Khan were also detained.
The Independent has reached out to Khan for a statement.
Filmmaker Kiran Rao expressed support for Khan, writing on Instagram that the actor “studied here, worked here, succeeded here, failed here, loved here and fought here”, and yet, was issued the notice.
Abu Azmi, head of the Samajwadi Party’s Maharashtra unit, also criticised the order. “This is wrong. Imran Khan belongs to this country. Even if he has changed his nationality, he is still connected to this country,” he told NDTV.
Actor Imran Khan, nephew of Aamir Khan, has been issued a notice by Mumbai Police directing him to leave India by October 28. Imran Khan had participated in a protest at Mumbai’s August Kranti Maidan demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. pic.twitter.com/XJKGuKJdyv
— Shakeel Yasar Ullah (@yasarullah) October 15, 2026
The protests in Mumbai were part of a wider campaign against the election commission’s Special Intensive Revision, an exercise to verify and update voter lists.
Activists and opposition parties have alleged that the process could exclude millions of eligible electors. They have accused chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of manipulating the exercise to benefit prime minister Narendra Modi’s ruling BJP.
The exercise has removed around 130 million names from electoral rolls but the commission has defended it as an effort to remove duplicate and ineligible entries.
The Cockroach Janta Party, a youth-led pressure group, called for Mr Kumar’s resignation and organised demonstrations on Saturday in Delhi and Mumbai.
The Delhi police detained more than 2,000 people as they prevented a rally at Jantar Mantar. In Mumbai, the police said they detained more than 400 people.
Khan said he had attended the Mumbai demonstration in his personal capacity rather than as a representative of a political organisation.
“I don’t have demands. I am here as a citizen, as a person who lives in this city,” he told reporters, according to The Indian Express.
“I am here to see why freedom of movement is being restricted. Why are people’s voices being suppressed? That is why I am here.”
Footage of him being detained and taken into a police van quickly spread on social media. He later shared a photograph of himself inside the van with the caption: “Apparently I am going for a drive.”
In another video, Khan could be asking the police the reason for his detention. “I honestly don’t know why I have been brought here. They picked all of us from the streets and asked us to sit in the vans.”
He said the group had been driven around in the vehicle for about two hours before being released.
Multiple protesters detained during the demonstrations told local media that police dragged them through streets and shoved them into buses, punched and kicked them during transport, and beat them with batons.
At least 37 journalists were detained across Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Pune, with several assaulted or obstructed while reporting, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
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