Imran Khan Pal Challenges FRRO Notice in Bombay High Court (Img: Dynamite News)
Mumbai: Actor Imran Khan Pal, around 44, approached the Bombay High Court on Saturday challenging a notice issued by the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO), Mumbai, directing him to leave India by October 28. Describing the order as “arbitrary, unreasoned and wholly misconceived’’, he argued that it violated the principles of natural justice and his fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
The notice, dated October 14, gave Pal two weeks to leave the country. In his petition, the actor said he had been living in India since he was two years old. He filed the plea electronically on Saturday, the same day the FRRO issued him a fresh show-cause notice asking why action should not be taken against him under the laws governing foreigners and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs).
Challenging the October 14 notice, Pal described it as a “punitive executive action’’ that sought to make him a “scapegoat’’. He alleged that the order had been issued for “extraneous’’ reasons intended to “stifle perceived dissent.’’
The petition, filed through MZM Legal, is expected to be mentioned before the High Court, likely on Monday. Pal has sought urgent intervention to stay the notice, arguing that its enforcement would be a “mockery of the principles of natural justice and the Constitution of India’’.
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The actor contended that the FRRO issued the notice without giving him reasons or a reasonable opportunity to present his case. He also stressed that the constitutional protections guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 extend to foreigners living in India.
According to the petition, the October 14 notice does not identify the specific statutory provisions allegedly violated. It is based on the “purported contravention of uncited provisions of the IFA and the Rules and Orders’’ framed under it, the plea stated.
The FRRO, which functions under the Bureau of Immigration, issued the notice within four days of a protest in Mumbai against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Pal was present at the protest, which was held against the incumbent chief election commissioner.
However, the actor has denied any organisational link to the demonstration. In his petition, he said he had “no association, affiliation or connection whatsoever with any organization or institution involved in organizing or participating in the protest against the incumbent chief election commissioner in Mumbai’’.
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The plea also states that Pal has no criminal antecedents. It argues that the notice does not refer to any specific incident constituting a violation, identify an underlying order or disclose the data relied upon by the authorities. It is also silent on the existence of any security report that may have formed the basis for the decision.
Arguing that the FRRO had failed to establish a legal basis for its action, Pal maintained that the notice reflected a lack of due process and proper application of mind.
The petition states: “The LIN is not a Bona Fide exercise of statutory authority, but a manifestly arbitrary, high-handed and grossly disproportionate abuse of power, vitiated by complete non-application of mind. It seeks to single out the Petitioner as a convenient scapegoat and make an example of him in furtherance of extraneous personal agendas with which he has no connection, whether to appease public opinion or to stifle perceived dissent,’’
It further argues: “Such punitive executive action cannot be permitted to place’’ his “constitutional guarantees in abeyance’’ or “extinguish rights that may be curtailed only… through a fair, just and reasonable procedure.”
Pal has argued that the action is disproportionate, fails to account for his rights as an OCI and does not consider the complete facts of the case. He has urged the High Court to quash the October 14 notice and grant relief against its enforcement.
The fresh show-cause notice issued on Saturday is a separate development in the matter. The actor’s challenge to the original departure notice is centred on the grounds that it does not specify the alleged violations or demonstrate that a fair procedure was followed before directing him to leave India.
