Matthew VanDyke and 6 Ukrainians arrested by NIA are freed, allowed to travel abroad: What are the court’s conditions?

New Delhi: A Delhi court has allowed seven foreign nationals facing an NIA probe linked to alleged drone-warfare training in Myanmar to leave India temporarily and return home to meet their families. The American national Matthew Aaron VanDyke has been permitted to travel to the United States, while six Ukrainian co-accused have been allowed to travel to Ukraine for one month.

The special NIA court at Rouse Avenue released their passports and directed all seven to return to India after the one-month period. They must also inform the court of their return within 72 hours, with the travel period to be counted from the date they board their respective flights.

The special NIA judge, Prashant Sharma, said the right to travel abroad is a part of the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India. At the same time, the court made the permission conditional on the seven, including remaining available to the investigating agency during their stay abroad.

They have been directed to provide the NIA with their residential addresses, working mobile numbers and email addresses within 24 hours. The accused must also join the investigation through video call or appear physically whenever required by the agency.

The court allowed them to provide family members’ phone numbers within 24 hours if they do not have working numbers of their own. After reaching their destinations, they must provide their own working numbers to the NIA within one week.

According to ANI, Matthew Aaron VanDyke and Ukrainians Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim alias Maksym and Kaminskyi Viktor were arrested in March in a case initially registered under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The NIA case concerns allegations that the foreign nationals entered Mizoram without the required permits and subsequently travelled to Myanmar, where they allegedly provided drone-related training to ethnic armed groups. The allegations are under investigation and have not been established by a trial court.

All these seven people have received default bail. The concept of default bail refers to a fundamental legal provision that may be exercised if an investigating agency fails to conclude its investigation and file the prescribed chargesheet within the prescribed time limit. It does not imply that the court has cleared the accused of the charges

In this case, the NIA filed a chargesheet on September 8 under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, while its investigation into the alleged UAPA offences was still continuing. The court had earlier held that filing an incomplete chargesheet could not take away the accused’s right to seek default bail when the investigation into the original offences remained incomplete.

As RNA Media reported earlier, the NIA has maintained that its investigation into the possible UAPA offences remains open and that further investigation could lead to a supplementary chargesheet.

The NIA had earlier secured an extension of the investigation period from 90 days to 180 days under the UAPA. However, the court’s finding on the incomplete chargesheet resulted in the accused becoming entitled to seek default bail.

The court also allowed VanDyke’s application seeking discharge from the immigration-law offences after those offences were compounded on September 18. The latest travel order does not end the NIA’s continuing investigation into the alleged UAPA offences.

The NIA was represented by the special public prosecutor, Rahul Tyagi and advocate Amit Rohila, while VanDyke was represented by advocates Rohit Dandriyal and Rohit Gour.