OCI cardholders at 'mercy' of country: HC raps Imran Khan, but extends interim relief | India News

The Bombay high court on Monday said Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders are “at the mercy of the country and cannot live here and criticise” it, even as it granted interim relief to actor Imran Khan over the ‘Leave India’ order issued against him.Khan, who is a US citizen, was allowed to continue his India stay after he tendered an “unconditional apology” for his alleged participation in a protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The next hearing is scheduled for December 7."OCI cardholders at the mercy of the country and cannot live here and criticize the country," a division bench of chief justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and justice Advait Sethna said.The court was hearing the actor's petition challenging the FRRO’s 'Leave India' notice issued to him last month. The notice followed his presence at a youth-led protest near August Kranti Maidan in Mumbai on October 10, demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral roll irregularities.The actor however denied crossing the barricades and entering the protest site in Mumbai.High Court questions Khan's presence at protestDuring the hearing, the court questioned Khan’s presence at the protest site, pointing out that he was neither an Indian citizen, nor entitled to vote in the country.The judges asked why the actor was at the protest site in the first place when he does not have a right to vote. OCI cardholders cannot live in the country and criticise it, the court said.“If you were an Indian citizen, it would have been okay but you’re an OCI holder. If you were in the US, they would deport you on the next flight. You can’t act like an Indian citizen. You weren’t even remotely connected to the protest,” the judges said.The bench also questioned Khan’s conduct, noting that he has lived in India since childhood, and has built his career here despite holding a USA citizenship and an OCI cardholder. “All these things are not open to the OCI holders. You are a celebrity, a star. Your one statement can have a decisive effect. Young people are following you,” the judges observed.“You’re a responsible person, you come from a responsible family. You can’t say you didn’t know about the consequences. Your livelihood, your bread butter was earned in India but you cannot be put at par with Indian citizens,” the judges added.The judges, however, felt that the situation does not warrant asking Khan to leave the country. They considered his categorical statement that he had no association or affiliation with any of the organisations involved in the protests and ordered him to tender an undertaking to that effect along with an unconditional apology.“Unconditional apology has to be there,” the judges said, adding, “If an unconditional apology is there, there has to be a big heart. Even on foundational facts, the person who has lived here for so many years, we have to follow Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.”The court, however, warned Khan not to be involved in such activities in future. “This activity is permissible in the USA. You can go (there) and participate when the election is on. But here, you have no right (to do that),” it remarked.Imran Khan denies violating rulesKhan has, however, denied violating the rules, saying no agitation was underway when he reached the spot and that he did not cross the police barricades to enter the protest site. He said he was apprehended after media personnel surrounded him while he was returning to his vehicle. He also contended that the notice did not specify the provision he had allegedly breached.In his undertaking, Khan submitted that he has no criminal antecedents to his discredit and has “utmost love and respect for this great nation and its Constitution”.He said, “I had no intent, as can be seen from my limited remarks to the media on August 10. I have never made any demands and have categorically stated that I am no one to make any demands. I was present there to see why the freedom of movement was being restricted and why people’s voices were being oppressed and suppressed."The actor argued that OCI cardholders belong to a distinct statutory category and that the action against him was disproportionate, considering he has lived in India for more than four decades.Senior advocate Venkatesh Dhond, appearing for Khan, informed the court that an FIR has been filed against him in connection with the incident, invoking charges of disobedience, unlawful assembly, etc., and denied that Khan had participated in the protest or instigated anyone.Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO), opposed Khan's petition, contending that he had participated in multiple illegal protests, given interviews to the press, and posted content on social media that allegedly instigated people. He argued that OCI holders do not enjoy the fundamental right to protest available to Indian citizens and that the government is free to ask such a foreign national to leave the country.“If I have taken action, issued a notice, he has to go. I don’t want someone to enter my country, it’s at my discretion,” Singh asserted. “I have an unfettered right to initiate proceedings against him. If I have given you a visa, it is my discretion to ask you to leave. It is an admitted position that he’s a USA citizen,” he added.The court has ordered the government to file its affidavit in reply to the actor’s petition and posted it for further hearing on December 7.