Delhi court grants default bail to U.S. national in NIA terror-conspiracy case

A Delhi court on Friday granted default bail to U.S. national Matthew Aaron Van Dyke, who was arrested in a terror-conspiracy case being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Special Judge Prashant Sharma allowed the bail on a personal bond of ₹1 lakh and a surety of the same amount. As a condition of release, Van Dyke has been directed not to leave Delhi. The court had issued notice to the NIA on his bail plea a day earlier, on Thursday.

Earlier this month, the NIA filed a chargesheet against Van Dyke and six Ukrainian citizens, accusing them of illegal entry, stay and movement in India. The agency, however, did not invoke the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the seven accused.

The chargesheet cited offences under Sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, which deal with entering India without a valid passport or other travel documents and prescribe penalties for the offence. The NIA told the court that more time was needed to ascertain and verify the true and complete facts regarding the alleged commission of offences under the UAPA.

The agency has said the accused are being probed in connection with a wide-ranging terror conspiracy, including alleged assistance to ethnic armed groups in India and Myanmar and the imparting of drone training to such groups.