A bench led by Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra challenged the actor for taking part in demonstrations against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls due to his United States citizenship. The court directed him to explicitly distance himself from the agitation and clarify his presence through an unconditional apology. Furthermore, the bench observed that an Indian national protesting in the United States would likely face immediate deportation under comparable circumstances.
Key points
Foreign nationals and overseas cardholders are strictly barred from participating in dome…: Foreign nationals and overseas cardholders are strictly barred from participating in domestic political protests within India.
The judiciary challenged the actor's legal standing to voice opposition against local ele…: The judiciary challenged the actor's legal standing to voice opposition against local electoral roll revision exercises.
An unconditional apology was required to resolve the bench's reprimand regarding unlawful…: An unconditional apology was required to resolve the bench's reprimand regarding unlawful involvement in domestic demonstrations.
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NEW DELHI: Actor Imran Khan on Monday tendered an unconditional apology after the Bombay high court reprimanded him for participating in a protest against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls despite being a US citizen.A bench led by Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra questioned how the United States would have reacted if an Indian national had protested there."What for were you there? There's a complete difference between the rights of citizens and OCI card holders... You need to clarify whether you were there for protests or for some other work. You will have to categorically make a statement that you had no association with the protests, etc.
Because the agitation was with regard to SIR, with which you have no concern at all," the court said."Obviously, because you aren't an Indian citizen... Imagine if an Indian citizen does such protests in any other country, take, for example, your country - the US. That Indian citizen would have been sent back to the country on the next immediate flight," the court added.
Rohitashwa Ranjan is a digital journalist with The Times…
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