Former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya has filed a complaint alleging that Bollywood actor Imran Khan holds an American passport, after the actor was detained at a protest in Mumbai against the Chief Election Commissioner.
The controversy began on October 10, when Mumbai Police detained Khan for taking part in a solidarity protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at August Kranti Maidan. The demonstration demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the electoral system. Police said they detained Khan because the gathering did not have official permission.
On Monday, October 12, Somaiya went to Gamdevi Police Station and filed a complaint. In a post on X, he said police assured him that the actor would be summoned and that a report had been sent to the Foreign Citizen Division of the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO). Somaiya also claimed he lodged a separate complaint with the FRRO’s Immigration Division at Mumbai airport and spoke to an officer there about it.
In his complaint, the former MP alleged that Khan was born in the United States, holds an American passport and has an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card. He questioned whether taking part in a protest directed against a constitutional authority fits with the conditions that apply to foreign nationals in India.
Somaiya cited Section 23(a) of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, which covers violations of visa conditions by foreign nationals and provides for up to three years in prison, a fine of up to Rs 3 lakh, or both. He also referred to Sections 7 and 29 of the Act, which give the Central Government powers over the stay and removal of foreign nationals.
These are Somaiya’s allegations. Neither police nor the FRRO has publicly confirmed any action against the actor, and Khan has not responded in the report. The complaint has not been tested in any court or official inquiry.
The protest was part of a wider youth-led campaign against the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Protesters say the exercise has left millions of voters off the rolls, a charge the Election Commission and the BJP deny. Parallel demonstrations in Delhi led to the detention of CJP leaders and other protesters amid tight security.
Over the past few weeks, protests against the revision have drawn heavy police action in the capital, including detentions of about 12 journalists
The complaint also adds to a pattern in which Somaiya, a former Lok Sabha member from Mumbai, has made public claims and filed complaints on issues involving Muslims and critics of the government.
