Ashoke Pandit backs notice for Imran Khan to leave by October 28
Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit has supported the FRRO notice asking actor Imran Khan, a US citizen with an OCI card, to leave India by October 28 after a Mumbai protest.
Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit has defended the government’s notice asking actor Imran Khan to leave India by October 28, insisting that a foreign national cannot claim the same right to protest as an Indian citizen.
The controversy began after Imran, Aamir Khan’s nephew and a US citizen who holds an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, was detained during a Mumbai demonstration on October 10. On October 15, the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) directed him to leave the country, citing alleged violations of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025.
What Ashoke Pandit said
In an interview with ANI, Ashoke Pandit said he was “really very happy” with the action, arguing that Imran had no right to protest because he is not an Indian citizen. He accused the actor of going “all out” to defame the country and of trying to create unrest.
Pandit’s advice to Imran was blunt: first educate yourself and ask your family before taking to the streets, because a US passport does not make someone an Indian citizen.
How the protest turned into a legal fight
The demonstration at August Kranti Maidan was organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and called for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
After he was detained, Imran shared a photograph that appeared to show him inside a police van with the caption, “Apparently I’m going for a drive”. At the protest, he told the media he had joined as a Mumbai resident, saying he wanted to understand why freedom of movement was being restricted.
Imran’s lawyer, Zulfikar Memon, has confirmed the actor will challenge the FRRO notice in the Bombay High Court, with the petition expected by Friday or Monday. The legal team has called the order “drastic” and says no provision of the law specifically bars OCI cardholders from participating in protests.
The OCI question at the centre
The case is really a test of what an OCI card does and does not allow. It lets people of Indian origin live and work in India, but it does not make them citizens, and the rules attached to political activity are now being argued in court.
- October 10: Imran detained during the CJP protest at August Kranti Maidan.
- October 15: FRRO notice directs him to leave India.
- October 28: Deadline set by the notice.
- Friday or Monday: Bombay High Court challenge expected.
For our readers, the practical takeaway is simple. If you live in India on an OCI card or a visa, read the conditions attached to that status before joining a public demonstration, and get legal advice quickly if a notice arrives.
Source: Hindustan Times
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