US national gets default bail in arms training case

A Delhi court on Friday granted default bail to American national Mathew Aaron VanDyke, arrested by the National Investigation Agency in March on the allegation that he trained ethnic armed groups in Myanmar, holding that the chargesheet filed against him was “piecemeal” and left his right to the relief intact. The court said the six Ukrainians arrested with him were entitled to the same order.

Special judge Prashant Sharma of Rouse Avenue Courts passed the order on an application moved by VanDyke through his counsel.

Default bail accrues to an accused when an investigating agency fails to complete its investigation within the period the law allows. 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 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, and leaving out the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), under which they were arrested and investigated.

“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.

The agency could not circumvent the provision of default bail “by filing an incomplete chargesheet” to deny VanDyke the relief, the court added.

It imposed several conditions, including a bar on VanDyke travelling outside the city without its permission, and said the remaining accused were entitled to similar relief.

VanDyke was arrested at Kolkata airport on March 13 under section 18 of UAPA, which punishes conspiracy, advocacy, abetment or incitement to commit a terrorist act. The six Ukrainians, Hurba Petro, Taras Slyviak, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Marian Stefankiv, Maksim Honcharuk and Viktor Kaminskyi, were arrested at Delhi and Lucknow airports the same day. All seven have been in judicial custody at Tihar jail.

The two immigration offences 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”.