The Bombay High Court will hear on October 26 actor Imran Khan Pal’s petition challenging a notice directing him to leave India by October 28, after the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in Mumbai issued the order following his detention at a protest in the city.
The petition challenges the notice as arbitrary, unreasoned and contrary to principles of natural justice. Senior counsel Venkatesh Dhond, who mentioned the matter for urgent hearing, told the court that Pal had been living in India since he was two years old and had been asked to leave “without notice, without any hearing, without reasons”.
The Chief Justice-led bench asked whether copies of the petition had been served on all parties. Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the Centre and the FRRO, said he had received the petition shortly before the hearing. While Dhond sought a hearing the following day because the departure deadline was October 28, Singh said the matter could be heard on October 26 and that the respondents would be prepared to argue it.
The FRRO issued the departure notice on October 14, four days after Pal attended a Mumbai protest concerning the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. According to the petition, the notice invokes the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, and related rules and orders, but does not identify the specific provisions allegedly contravened.
Pal’s lawyers have argued that merely reproducing statutory language is insufficient and that the notice violates his fundamental rights to equality and life under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. The petition says these constitutional protections are available to foreigners in India as well.
The legal challenge also refers to a first information report registered in connection with the matter. The petition states that the alleged offences under Sections 223, 126(2), 189(2), 189(3) and 189(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, are bailable and carry no punishment exceeding two years. It further says that the investigation has not resulted in a chargesheet, court cognisance or framing of charges.
Pal, who is almost 44, has also received a show-cause notice on why his Overseas Citizen of India status should not be cancelled under a provision of the Citizenship Act. His petition claims that this notice, like the departure order, was issued without reasons or a reasonable opportunity to respond.
The actor is expected to seek interim relief staying the departure notice at the October 26 hearing. The final relief sought is to quash and set aside the order. The Centre and the FRRO will be heard before the court decides the interim request.
