Mumbai Police have asked the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) to verify the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status of actor Zayn Marie Khan, two days after her cousin, actor Imran Khan, apologised in the Bombay High Court for joining the same protest and gave an undertaking not to take part in any more.
The police move follows the Mumbai protest on October 10, when both actors were detained at August Kranti Maidan. The demonstration was against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Imran Khan went with his partner Lekha Washington and with his cousin.
OpIndia reported that the protest was organised by Tushar Gandhi’s group Hum Bharat Ke Log, while earlier reports linked it to the Cockroach Janta Party.
According to Mumbai Police, Zayn was born in Mumbai but holds an OCI card as a US citizen. An FIR has been registered against her over her participation in the protest. A police officer said the FRRO would check her status.
“The FRRO will check her OCI status,” he said. The reports say police from the force’s South Region wrote to the FRRO, first seeking verification for both actors, and again, two days after the FRRO issued a Leave India notice to Imran Khan on October 14, to inform it that an FIR had been registered against Zayn.
The FRRO served him a Leave India notice on the grounds that he had violated the rules for OCI cardholders and the conditions of his visa by taking part in a political demonstration as a foreign national. He challenged it in the Bombay High Court, arguing that he had not organised or actively participated in the protest, that he was present near the location, and that he left when police asked him to.
On November 2, the High Court directed Khan to file an unconditional apology, observing that OCI cardholders do not have the right to participate in protests. He submitted the apology and an undertaking not to take part in any such demonstration in future. The court extended its suspension of the Leave India notice until he formally responds to it, so the notice is on hold and has not been withdrawn.
Zayn has not been served any notice by the FRRO so far, Imran Khan’s lawyer told The Indian Express. The reports do not say how the FRRO will proceed, whether she has been asked to appear, or what action may follow if her status is found to have been violated. The FRRO has not commented publicly.
The government says that OCI holders are foreign nationals who must stay clear of political activities, and the High Court’s observation supports that position. Critics argue that peaceful protest is a basic right and that actors with deep roots in India should not be threatened with expulsion for attending a demonstration.
