In brief
Actors Imran Khan, an Overseas Citizen of India with an OCI card, has been told by Indian authorities to leave the country by 28 October after protesting at Mumbai’s August Kranti Maidan. The protest demanded the resignation of Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and called for electoral reforms. Police claim Khan’s participation violated local laws, but his lawyer argues no rule forbids OCI holders from protesting. Khan plans to challenge the ban in the Bombay High Court. The decision comes as the actor prepares to return to film work with a new Netflix drama.
Authorities in India have ordered actor Imran Khan, nephew of Bollywood star Aamir Khan, to leave the country by 28 October after he participated in a protest demanding electoral reforms.
Khan, an American citizen holding an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, can visit and stay in India but cannot vote or run for office.
Police said he joined an agitation at Mumbai’s August Kranti Maidan calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of vote‑fraud allegations, which the election panel denies.
Khan’s lawyer will challenge the order in the Bombay High Court, arguing that no law prohibits OCI holders from protesting.
The Foreigners' Regional Registration Office served him a notice for ‘violating laws by protesting’ on 10 October, when he was briefly detained alongside other demonstrators.
During the protest Khan took to Instagram to post a photo from inside a police detention van with the caption, “Apparently I’m going for a drive,” a post that received more than two million likes.
The motion to leave comes as Khan returns to acting this year with the Netflix film Adhure Hum Adhure Tum after a long hiatus.
Over the weekend, thousands marched in Mumbai and Delhi demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar ahead of crucial state elections. Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, led marches to the Supreme Court in Delhi, while two top CJP leaders were jailed for trespassing at a protest site in Delhi.
