Mumbai Police on 15 October 2026 served the actor Imran Khan with a notice directing him to leave India by 28 October, after he took part in a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, according to India TV, Gulf News and Scroll. The notice was issued under provisions of the Immigration Act, according to India TV, which does not name the sections.
The reason given is that he is not an Indian citizen. Mr Khan is a US citizen by birth and holds an Overseas Citizen of India card, according to India TV. A report cited by Tribune.com.pk said that the Foreigners Regional Registration Office served the notice five days after he was detained, and that participation by foreigners in political protests can be treated as a breach of immigration and visa rules. IndiaX24 has not found the text of the notice and reports the legal basis as described by the media.
The protest took place on 10 October 2026 at August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai and was organised by the Cockroach Janta Party, according to India TV. Mr Khan was detained at 5.20 pm, and his cousin Zayn Khan was also detained, according to the report. The notice therefore came five days after the protest, a count by IndiaX24, and it gives him 13 days from the date of the notice to leave, another count.
Mr Khan explained his presence at the protest in simple terms. ‘I don’t have demands. I am here as a citizen, as someone who lives in this city… why people’s voices are being suppressed. That is why I am here,’ he said, according to India TV. He posted a humorous caption on Instagram about the detention, according to the same report, and plans to challenge the notice in the Bombay High Court.
The protest was one of several that IndiaX24 has covered around the revision of electoral rolls. The Election Commission has ordered a Special Summary Revision in 17 states and union territories, and the Supreme Court has issued notice on petitions against the separate intensive revision, as IndiaX24 has reported. The protesters at Mumbai demanded the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner, according to the reports, and the Commission has not responded to that demand in the sources reviewed.
The case raises questions that the reports do not answer. It is not stated which provision of the Immigration Act was used, whether the notice is a formal deportation or a direction to leave voluntarily, or what the consequence of not leaving would be. OCI cardholders have a special status in India that falls short of citizenship, which is general background, and the reports reviewed do not describe how the rules on political activity apply to them.
The government has not commented in the reports reviewed. No statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Foreigners Regional Registration Office or the Commission is quoted, and IndiaX24 has not found one.
Mr Khan is known as an actor from Hindi films, and the reports reviewed do not describe his career. He is a public figure whose presence drew attention to a protest, and IndiaX24 does not speculate on how the notice relates to that attention.
The deadline of 28 October is 12 days away from the date of this article. A petition in the Bombay High Court could be heard before then, but the reports reviewed do not give a date.
IndiaX24 will report on any hearing and on the outcome.
Image: Actor Imran Khan at a TeachAIDS recording session (file photo). Photo by TeachAIDS from Stanford, California, USA, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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