US national arrested for ‘terror conspiracy’ moves Delhi court for bail - The Indian Express
US national Matthew VanDyke, among seven foreign nationals arrested in March by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for allegedly conspiring to carry out terrorist activities against India, moved bail before a Delhi court Thursday.
In its chargesheet filed on September 8 before a special NIA court in Delhi, the probe agency had invoked sections of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, against the seven foreigners, including six Ukrainians, who are accused of having links to ethnic armed groups in India.
It had not invoked the anti-terror law — Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) — against them.
Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Rahul Tyagi representing the NIA had then informed the court that the investigation into offences under the UAPA has been kept pending for further probe. The agency may file a supplementary chargesheet if an offence under the Act is made out, he added.
VanDyke, represented by advocates Rohit Dandriyal and Rohit Gour, moved an application seeking default bail under Section 187(3) of the BNSS read with Section 43D(2) of the UAPA.
BNSS Section 187(3) governs the statutory right to default bail when an investigation is not finished within a set timeframe. Section 187 also sets a standard 90-day investigation limit for serious offences before default bail applies and a 60-day limit for others.
Section 43-D(2) of the UAPA modifies this for terror offences, allowing the Special Court to extend the detention and investigation period up to 180 days upon a satisfactory report from the Public Prosecutor.
While the NIA had investigated the case for terror for 180 days after seeking an extension from the court, in their first chargesheet filed in the case, they chose to invoke Sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, which are both compoundable at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
“A substantial part of the further investigation with respect to the offences committed under UA(P) Act, 1967, has been completed. Further investigation is undergoing and more time is required in order to ascertain and verify the true and complete facts about the commission of offences under UA(P)A in view of import and recovery of huge quantity of drones and accessories through India,” the NIA had submitted on September 8 before Special NIA Judge Prashant Sharma of Rouse Avenue Court.
As per the NIA’s investigation, the accused persons entered Myanmar illegally via Mizoram without any valid travel documents to allegedly conduct a pre-scheduled training on drone warfare, drone operations, assembly and jamming technology for Myanmar-based Ethnic Armed Groups (EAGs) targeting the Myanmar Military Junta.
The agency also claimed that they violated Section 3 and 7 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, which govern the mandatory travel documents required for entry into India.
As per the NIA, which was represented in court by SPP Tyagi, PP Ankit Gautam, and advocates Jatin Khatri and Amit Rohilla, several consignments of drones from Europe were allegedly delivered by the accused persons to individuals and groups in Mizoram.
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023. Professional Background Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University. Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories. Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts. Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials. Recent notable articles In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories. 1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey. 2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation. 3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police. Signature Style Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public. X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ... Read More
