A Delhi court on Wednesday granted default bail to six Ukrainians arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in March over allegations that they trained ethnic armed groups in Myanmar.
This comes a week after American citizen Matthew Aaron VanDyke, who was arrested under terror charges on March 13 along with six Ukrainian nationals for allegedly training ethnic armed groups in Myanmar, got bail.
The order was passed on Wednesday by Special Judge Prashant Sharma of Rouse Avenue Courts, paving the way for the six Ukrainians to be discharged of offences under the Immigration and Foreigners Act after the cases were compounded before the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO). The accused paid ₹5.5 lakh as a penalty for the immigration offences. The court further imposed a cash bond of ₹1 lakh as a condition for their release.
“The chargesheet filed by the NIA is piecemeal as it pertains to section 21 and 23 of Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, only. In the wake of further investigation being carried out by the NIA with respect of offences under UAPA, at this stage it cannot be concluded that accused is not entitled to default bail,” the court said in its order. Both the immigration offences are compoundable before the FRRO after appropriate payment of the penalty amount.
Default bail accrues to an accused when an investigating agency fails to complete its investigation within the period allowed by law. The NIA had 90 days to file its chargesheet against the seven and was granted a further 90 days, taking the period to 180 days. It filed the chargesheet on September 8, charging them only under Sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, which cover illegal entry and violations of visa conditions, while leaving out the UAPA, under which they were arrested and investigated.
{{/usCountry}}Default bail accrues to an accused when an investigating agency fails to complete its investigation within the period allowed by law. The NIA had 90 days to file its chargesheet against the seven and was granted a further 90 days, taking the period to 180 days. It filed the chargesheet on September 8, charging them only under Sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, which cover illegal entry and violations of visa conditions, while leaving out the UAPA, under which they were arrested and investigated.
{{/usCountry}}Special Judge Sharma on Wednesday also modified the bail condition imposed on VanDyke, exempting him from furnishing a surety bond of ₹1 lakh after his counsel informed the court that VanDyke had no known persons in the country to stand as surety for him. The court subsequently released him on a cash bond of a similar amount.
The judge, who granted VanDyke bail, said the agency had invoked “piecemeal” charges under Sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act rather than the more serious UAPA Section 18. The court, however, barred VanDyke from travelling outside Delhi without permission. He paid ₹5.5 lakh as compounding charges to the FRRO in Delhi on Tuesday before moving an application seeking his discharge.
The six Ukrainians, identified as Hurba Petro, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, Maksim Honcharuk and Viktor Kaminskyi, were arrested at Delhi and Lucknow airports on the same day as VanDyke. All seven were in judicial custody at Tihar jail.
The court imposed similar travel restrictions on the six Ukrainians, including barring them from travelling outside the city without its permission.
The two immigration offences the NIA has charged them with carry maximum sentences of five and three years in prison. “We have filed a charge sheet against seven accused under the Immigration and Foreigners Act. The probe has been kept open in all other aspects, including the UAPA charges,” NIA special public prosecutor Rahul Tyagi said after the chargesheet was filed.
An NIA official had said at the time that there appeared, so far, to be no terror conspiracy against India, and that the agency had found robust evidence that the seven violated their entry and stay conditions.
In the chargesheet, the agency said it had completed a substantial part of its investigation into the UAPA offences but needed more time “to ascertain and verify the true and complete facts about the commission of offences under UAPA”. It sought permission to continue investigating the import and recovery of a large quantity of drones and accessories through India, and material seized from digital devices, which it said “may indicate their possible involvement in acts affecting/threatening the unity, integrity, security and sovereignty of India”.
NIA has alleged that the seven entered India on valid travel documents in December 2025, travelled to Guwahati and Mizoram without the mandatory protected area permit or restricted area permit, and crossed the India-Myanmar border through unauthorised points to reach Victoria Camp, where they were to conduct pre-scheduled training for Myanmar-based ethnic armed groups in drone warfare, drone operations, assembly and jamming technology. They returned to India around March 5, 2026. Some of those groups, the agency has said, are linked to insurgent organisations in India.
Six taxis hired through a car rental company that caters to foreigners took the accused from Guwahati into Mizoram’s protected area, according to the chargesheet. They halted for several hours before crossing into Myanmar by the Tiau river route, reaching Victoria Camp on December 29, 2025. Two people, Abika and Viktor/Kima, arranged the logistics for the crossing, the agency said.
NIA has maintained that the trip went beyond an immigration violation and formed part of “a larger conspiracy involving Indian insurgent groups, particularly those active in the northeastern states”.
VanDyke, who is from Baltimore, describes himself on his website as a soldier, war correspondent, columnist and international businessman, a veteran of the Libyan revolution and a former prisoner of war there. He founded Sons of Liberty International, a military contracting firm. He was represented by Rohit Dandriyal and Rohit Gour at Friday’s hearing.