A Delhi court has granted default bail and permission to travel abroad for seven foreign nationals, including alleged American mercenary Matthew Aaron Van Dyke and six Ukrainians, who were arrested in connection with an alleged drone-warfare training camp linked to ethnic armed groups in Myanmar, as the NIA continues its probe.
Key Points
- A Delhi court has allowed seven foreign nationals, including an American and six Ukrainians, accused in a drone-warfare training camp case, to travel to their home countries for one month.
- The accused were granted default bail and subsequently permitted to leave India, subject to certain conditions.
- The NIA had filed its first chargesheet without invoking UAPA provisions, stating that the investigation into alleged UAPA offences was ongoing.
- The Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) compounded the offences under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, imposing a fine of Rs 5.5 lakh on each accused.
- The court cited the right to travel abroad as an extension of fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution.
A Delhi court has allowed seven foreign nationals, including alleged American mercenary Matthew Aaron Van Dyke and six Ukrainians, arrested in a case being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) over an alleged drone-warfare training camp linked to ethnic armed groups in Myanmar, to travel to their respective countries for a month.
The accused were released from Tihar Jail on Thursday after completion of the necessary formalities, officials said on Friday.
They were allowed to travel to the United States and Ukraine after the court granted them default bail and subsequently permitted them to leave the country, subject to conditions.
Court's Rationale for Travel Permission
Special NIA Judge Prashant Sharma, in an order passed on Thursday, said the right to travel abroad was an extension of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution and that a balance had to be struck.
The court noted that the six Ukrainian nationals had been discharged on September 18 under sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, while Van Dyke was discharged on September 25.
The offences were compounded by the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), which imposed a fine of Rs 5.5 lakh on each of the accused.
The court had earlier granted default bail to Van Dyke on September 18 and to the six Ukrainians on September 23.
NIA's Ongoing Investigation
The bail followed the NIA's filing of its first chargesheet on September 8 without invoking provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), although the agency said its probe into alleged UAPA offences was continuing.
The NIA had initially registered the case against the seven under Section 18 of the UAPA, relating to conspiracy, besides provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The agency had obtained an extension to investigate the alleged UAPA offences for 180 days.
In its chargesheet, however, the NIA invoked provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Act and said the UAPA investigation had been kept pending.
It said a supplementary chargesheet could be filed if an offence under the anti-terror law was established.
The agency had also told the court that a substantial part of the further UAPA investigation had been completed, but more time was required to ascertain the complete facts, particularly in view of the import and rec
