Delhi court grants default bail to six Ukrainian nationals in NIA terror case

A special court in New Delhi on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) granted default bail to six Ukrainian nationals arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in March in connection with an alleged cross-border conspiracy involving ethnic armed groups in Myanmar.

Special Judge Prashant Sharma of the Rouse Avenue court granted bail to Hurba Petro, Slyviak Taras, Ivan Sukmanovskyi, Stefankiv Marian, Honcharuk Maksim, and Kaminskyi Viktor on personal cash bonds of ₹1 lakh each.

The court also discharged the accused under Sections 21 (penalty for unauthorised entry) and 23 (penalty for visa overstay and general contraventions) of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, noting the compounding of offences by the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO).

The FRRO had compounded the offences by imposing a fine of ₹5.5 lakh on each.

The court will hear American national Matthew Aaron VanDyke’s application seeking permission to travel to U.S. on Friday (September 25, 2026).

The development came days after the court, on September 18, granted default bail to Mr. VanDyke, who was arrested by the NIA on March 13 at the Kolkata airport. The six Ukrainians were arrested at airports in Delhi and Lucknow on the same day.

The NIA had alleged that the seven accused entered India on tourist visas, travelled to the northeastern region without mandatory permits and subsequently crossed from Mizoram into Myanmar, where they allegedly trained ethnic armed organisations.

The agency had initially invoked provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), including those relating to conspiracy. It also alleged that the accused made disclosures about the network and were involved in assembling equipment and targeting a passenger aircraft in Myanmar.

However, in its charge sheet, the NIA did not invoke the UAPA provisions and instead proceeded under Sections 21 and 23 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, which are compoundable before the FRRO.

The NIA, in the past, had indicated that its investigation into the alleged terror-related aspects is continuing and that further allegations could be included in a supplementary charge sheet.