Bombay High Court to hear Imran Khan plea October 26

The Bombay High Court will hear actor Imran Khan’s challenge to a Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) direction ordering him to leave India on October 26. The direction, issued on October 14, gave Khan until October 28 to depart, according to his petition and court filings described in the reports. Khan’s lawyer brought the petition before a division bench on October 19 and requested a hearing on October 21. The court set October 26 instead, allowing the FRRO time to obtain instructions. It also asked Khan’s lawyers to add the State of Maharashtra as a party so the court could ascertain whether he had criminal antecedents. Khan is asking the court to quash the departure direction and stay its enforcement while the case proceeds. His petition says the FRRO acted without giving him a prior hearing, failed to identify the specific legal provision he allegedly breached and did not properly account for his status as an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholder. He also seeks protection from deportation and other coercive action, and asks authorities to produce records underlying the decision. The FRRO issued a separate show-cause notice asking why Khan’s OCI...