The Bombay High Court has ordered actor Imran Khan to issue an unconditional apology, saying an affidavit alone would not be enough. The order came on Monday during a hearing on his petition challenging a notice requiring him to leave India after he joined a protest in Mumbai last month.
The court also extended its interim stay on a notice issued by the Foreigners Regional Registration Office. The judges warned Khan that, as an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder, he had breached rules by joining the protest.
Khan told the court that he had no connection with the protest organizers and was ready to submit an affidavit seeking permission to remain in India. The court said he must also apologize unconditionally.
The court told him that an Indian citizen who carried out similar conduct abroad would be sent back on the next flight. The judges asked why he had chosen to join a protest after living in India for so many years without taking part in one.
The court said Khan could protest or vote in the United States, but that protests in India were not acceptable under his status. It gave him interim protection until December 7.
The court also referred to the principle of “the whole world is one family”.
The FRRO told the court that Khan is a US citizen and therefore has no right to take part in protests in India. The solicitor general argued that his rights and privileges as an OCI cardholder were limited and distinct from those of Indian citizens. He said Khan knew the purpose and objectives of the protest despite his large public influence and Instagram following.
Khan said he had lived in India for many years and that his professional and family life were based there. He said India was his home and that his children, work, family and roots were there, apart from two years he spent in the United States.
Khan was detained in Mumbai last month after joining a protest organized by the Cockroach Janata Party demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. He was later ordered to leave India by October 28 and challenged the notice in the Bombay High Court.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report