A Delhi court on Friday permitted American national Matthew Aaron VanDyke to travel to the United States and extended permission for six Ukrainian nationals in the same case to remain outside India until February 24, 2027, The CSR Journal and Mirror Now reported. Special Judge Prashant Sharma passed the order on applications moved by the seven foreign nationals, after VanDyke returned to India to appear before the court, as directed earlier.
Source: The CSR Journal — Court Allows VanDyke, Ukrainians to Stay Abroad Until Feb 24 (October 23, 2026)
VanDyke and the six Ukrainians were arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in March 2026. The NIA has alleged that the group provided weapons and drone-warfare training to ethnic armed groups in Myanmar — these are the agency's allegations, which remain under investigation and have not been established in court. According to the NIA's allegations as reported by SSBCrack, the seven entered India on tourist visas, travelled to Mizoram without the mandatory protected or restricted area permits, crossed into Myanmar through unauthorised points, and provided training in drone operations, assembly and jamming technology, and were also alleged to have facilitated the movement of drone equipment from Europe.
The NIA filed a chargesheet on September 8, 2026 under Sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, without invoking provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in that document, SSBCrack reported. A special NIA court granted VanDyke default bail on September 18, observing that the chargesheet was incomplete, after he had spent over 180 days in custody; he later paid Rs 5.5 lakh as compounding charges to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in connection with the alleged immigration violations. The six Ukrainian nationals were also granted default bail and have been appearing via video conference.
In September, VanDyke had been allowed to visit the US for a month to meet his family, on condition that he returned for court appearances, The CSR Journal reported. At Friday's hearing, NIA counsel Rahul Tyagi told the court the agency needed more time to investigate various aspects of the case, and the court allowed the travel extensions on that basis, Mirror Now and The CSR Journal reported. VanDyke, who said he had dismissed his lawyer due to financial constraints and was representing himself, was quoted as saying he had no comment on the case as it is ongoing.
Source: The CSR Journal — Court Allows VanDyke, Ukrainians to Stay Abroad Until Feb 24 (October 23, 2026)
The handling of the case has drawn political criticism: Congress leaders have questioned whether US pressure influenced the dropping of UAPA provisions and the grant of travel permission — an allegation by the opposition, which the government has not been reported as accepting. The NIA has said its investigation into the alleged terror-related aspects is continuing and that it may file a supplementary chargesheet if further evidence emerges, SSBCrack reported. The next hearing is listed for February 24, 2027.