Kerala HC stays FIR against US citizens for flying drones in defence zone

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The Kerala High Court has passed an interim order to stay the FIR filed against two U.S. citizens for allegedly flying drones in defence areas. They were reportedly flying the drone in a red zone near the Coast Guard headquarters and INS Dronacharya, a gunnery and missile training establishment in Fort Kochi.

A Single Bench of Justice C.S. Dias noted that the offences charged against the petitioners were from a repealed law, namely, the Aircraft Act, 1934. The Act was replaced with Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024.

The FIR was registered at the Fort Kochi police station against Katie Michelle Phelps and Christopher Ross Harvey. The court has stayed the FIR for a period of two months, noting that the petitioners had prima facie made out a case for the order, in their petition to quash the criminal proceedings.