New Delhi: Actor Imran Khan, who faced the Bombay high court after Mumbai police detained him at the site of an anti-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) protest held in the Maharashtra capital last month, has been asked to unconditionally apologise, said reports on Monday (November 2). This followed a strict remprimand by a division bench of the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court Mahesh Chandra Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna. The bench later invoked vasudhaiva kutumbakam (the world is one), suggesting that an apology could translate to relief.Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya had filed a police complaint against the actor, who is a US citizen, alleging that he had violated the terms of his Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card and visa conditions by joining the protests against the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The complaint was sent to the Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office (FRRO) by the police.“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, as per a Times of India report.The FRRO had, on the basis of the complaint forwarded to it, issued a ‘Leave India’ notice to Khan for participating in the event. The order was served on him on October 14. Khan was asked to leave India by October 28.Also read: Government Tells Actor Imran Khan to Leave Country After Participation in Protests“Go to the USA and participate in protests there and you can even go and cast your vote, but you protesting anything here won’t be tolerated,” the court said, as per an NDTV report. “OCI cardholders at the mercy of the country and cannot live here and criticise the country,” said the bench.Khan had appealed the FRRO’s decision. The protest he participated in was held in Mumbai on October 10. He was detained by police at the protest site, bringing his participation to attention and prompting the BJP leader to complain to police.In an Instagram post on October 12, Lekha Washington, Khan’s partner, had claimed that the two had been walking towards the protest site to inquire about a friend who had been detained by the police when they were suddenly surrounded by media representatives.“He [Imran] responded to the questions of the media, saying we have no demands, we are not part of an organisation,” she said.The Bombay high court had previously stayed the ‘Leave India Notice’ issued against him until November 2.On Monday, Khan argued in court that he had not participated in the protest, nor crossed any of the police barricades. He was simply detained after mediapersons mobbed him at the site, he said, as per a report in the Hindustan Times.The order asking him to leave has been kept in abeyance until the next hearing on December 7.Khan also told the court he had no association with the organisers of the October 10 protest, which was the Cockroach Janta Party, and offered to file an affidavit. He appealed to the court to let him stay in India, where he has lived near-continuously and where his family reside.The court then said he had to apologise unconditionally and an affidavit would not do.“If an Indian citizen had committed a similar act abroad, they would have been deported to India on the very next flight,” the court said.However, the court also invoked vasudhaiva kutumbakam, saying, “[At] some point of time you will show magnanimity and say this man must live here.” That is, if he submits an unconditional apology, the court said.