A Delhi court has allowed seven foreign nationals arrested in a case being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) over an alleged drone-warfare training camp linked to ethnic armed groups in Myanmar to travel to their home countries for one month.
Special NIA Judge Prashant Sharma passed the order on Thursday, September 24. The permission was given to US national Matthew Aaron Van Dyke and six Ukrainian nationals to travel to the United States and Ukraine.
The court had earlier discharged the seven under Sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, after the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) compounded the alleged offences. The FRRO had also imposed a fine of Rs 5.5 lakh on each of them on September 18.
The accused had approached the court seeking the release of their passports and permission to travel abroad. The court noted that the NIA investigation into alleged offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) was still in progress.
While allowing their applications, the court said the NIA would need more time to complete its investigation. It also noted that the agency had not said that the physical presence of the seven accused would be immediately necessary.
The court observed that the right to travel abroad is part of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. It said a balance had to be maintained while deciding their requests.
The seven have been allowed to remain in their respective countries for one month from the date they board their flights. They must cooperate with the NIA investigation through video conference or appear physically whenever required.
They have also been directed to provide their residential addresses, active phone numbers and email addresses to the NIA within 24 hours. After completing one month abroad, they have been ordered to return to India.
Van Dyke was granted default bail on September 18, while the six Ukrainian nationals — Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim alias Maksym and Kaminskyi Viktor — were granted default bail on September 23.
The NIA had initially registered the case against the seven under Section 18 of the UAPA, which deals with conspiracy, along with provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The agency investigated the alleged UAPA offences for 180 days after receiving an extension from the court. However, in its first chargesheet filed on September 8, the NIA invoked provisions of the Immigration and Foreigners Act and said that its UAPA investigation was still continuing.
The agency said it could file a supplementary chargesheet if the ongoing investigation establishes offences under the anti-terror law. It also said further investigation was needed to determine the full facts, particularly regarding the import and recovery of a large number of drones and related equipment through India.
According to the NIA, the accused allegedly entered Myanmar through Mizoram without valid travel documents and took part in a pre-planned programme involving drone warfare, drone operations, assembly and jamming technology for ethnic armed groups based in Myanmar.
The agency had earlier told the court that the seven were being investigated as part of an alleged wider conspiracy involving assistance to ethnic armed groups in India and Myanmar, including providing them with drone-related training.