Imran Khan’s plea against ‘Leave India’ notice to be heard on October 26; Bombay High Court seeks Maharashtra government’s inclusion

The Bombay High Court is set to consider Imran Khan's request to challenge a directive from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) that ordered him to leave India by October 26.Khan is objecting to the notice he received on October 14, claiming that it was issued without giving him a chance to explain his side and broke the rights he has as an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholder.

The court has scheduled a hearing for October 26 to discuss Khan's plea.

The court also wants the Maharashtra government to be included as a party in the case to check if Khan has any criminal background.

The issue was brought up before a panel of judges, including Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna, on Monday.

Khan's lawyer, Venkatesh Dhond, told the court that Khan received the notice after trying to attend a protest, but got stopped midway and had to return.Dhond said the central government had been given a copy of the petition and asked for an early hearing on October 21, but the court has delayed it to October 26 to give the FRRO time to get instructions on the case.

During the hearing, the court asked Khan's lawyers to include the Maharashtra government as a party so that the court can check if Khan has any criminal record.

The court said, "Are there any criminal records?Bring the State as a party, so that in case.This is a local matter.So make State of Maharashtra a party."

In his petition, Khan has raised concerns about how the directive was issued on October 14.

He says the authorities acted quickly without giving him a chance to explain and bypassed the legal protections he is entitled to as an OCI holder.He also claims that the directive was influenced by social media campaigns against him by political figures.

According to the petition, the directive was issued because of public pressure and not through a fair assessment.

Khan is asking the court to cancel the October 14 notice and stop it from being enforced.He also wants the court to prevent the authorities from taking steps like deportation, issuing lookout notices, blacklisting him, or changing his OCI status.He also wants the court to get the internal records that led to the directive.

The directive came after Khan was briefly detained by police for taking part in protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

This happened after BJP leader Kirit Somaiya filed an FIR in Mumbai, alleging public-order violations under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

Khan's petition, filed on October 17, criticizes the speed with which the FRRO issued the directive after these events.

He argues that the authorities did not follow the proper procedure before taking action that could impact his ability to stay in India.

Khan's petition also brings up the legal protections available to OCI holders.

He argues that the FRRO ignored Section 7D of the Citizenship Act, which outlines the process for canceling OCI registration.On October 17, the FRRO issued a separate show-cause notice asking Khan why his OCI status should not be canceled under that section.However, Khan has not challenged that notice in this petition.

This distinction is important because the October 14 directive asking him to leave India and the show-cause notice about his OCI registration are separate actions.