- Actor Imran Khan challenges FRRO's 'leave India' notice.
- Notice deemed arbitrary, unreasoned, and unconstitutional.
- Cites violation of fundamental rights (Articles 14, 21).
Actor Imran Khan on Saturday moved the Bombay High Court to challenge a "leave India" notice issued by the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO), Mumbai, directing him to leave the country by October 28.
News Alert! Actor Imran Khan files plea in Bombay High Court against notice asking him to leave India for taking part in protest https://t.co/JlE6nOrBe7
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 17, 2026
Khan described the notice as "arbitrary, unreasoned and wholly misconceived." The plea, set to be mentioned before the court likely next Monday, argues that the executive action flouts his fundamental rights under Article 14 (equality) and Article 21 (life and personal liberty), constitutional guarantees that are available to even foreigners in India.
FRRO's 'Leave India' Notice To Imran Khan
The FRRO, operating under the Bureau of Immigration, issued the notice on October 14, within four days of a protest in Mumbai against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, where the actor was present. Invoking the Immigration and Foreigners Act (IFA) 2025, the order cited a "purported contravention of uncited provisions of the IFA and the Rules and Orders."
Khan's petition states that he has no criminal antecedents and clarifies that he has "no association, affiliation or connection whatsoever with any organisation or institution involved in organising or participating in the protest against the incumbent chief election commissioner in Mumbai."
What Does Imran Khan's Petition Say?
Filed through MZM Legal and advocates Zulfi Memon, Parvez Memon, and Chirag Naik, the petition seeks urgent intervention of the High Court to stay the notice, stating that its enforcement would be a "mockery of the principles of natural justice and the Constitution of India."
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The petition asserts that the notice was issued directly without providing any reason or a reasonable opportunity to be heard, and is "completely silent on any instances of the contravention in question; any underlying order or data forming the basis for issuance of the order or even any Security Report."
Describing the action as a "punitive executive action" where he is made a "scapegoat" for "extraneous" reasons, the plea states, "LIN is not a Bona Fide exercise of statutory authority, but a manifestly arbitrary, high-handed and grossly disproportionate abuse of power, vitiated by complete non-application of mind. It seeks to single out the Petitioner as a convenient scapegoat and make an example of him in furtherance of extraneous personal agendas with which he has no connection, whether to appease public opinion or to stifle perceived dissent."
Fresh FRRO Show Cause Notice Issued To Imran Khan
On the same day Khan filed his petition challenging the October 14 order, the FRRO issued a fresh show cause notice asking why action should not be taken against him under the laws governing foreigners and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs).
(With Inputs From Agencies)