Hello fellow In Reach users. I want to warn you to think very carefully before you carry any Garmin devices connected to GPS but in particular In Reach into or transiting through India.
i am currently sitting in the departure lounge waiting for a flight home. It was a very different story 5 weeks ago when I was transiting through IGI Delhi on my way to Bhutan.
I was blissfully unaware of India’s view of GPS devices so when the CISF officer asked me if the 2 small orange devices were GPS I innocently said yes. This set off a nightmarish process that ultimately was the biggest bureaucratic waste of time I’ve ever encountered.
The short version was that I was detained in the airport, disembarked from my plane to Paro, it took seven hours to get out of the airport and then I was taken to the IGI police station. It was unclear as to whether I had been arrested, I therefore contacted the British Consulate and a local lawyer. In the end, I was “freed” and allowed to fly on to Bhutan the next day on the condition I returned to Delhi to appear in the Magistrates Court to receive a Rupee 50,000 fine.
I therefore returned to Delhi after my epic Snowman’s Trek during which I obviously didn’t have In Reach comms with the outside world, fortunately others who had come through Kathmandu did. I was told to attend the Court which I duly did. Having waited 4 hours the Magistrates session ended at 1630 and he walked out. It was then I discovered that all charges (which were criminal in nature) were dropped, the case dismissed with no fine and I was told I could collect my devices!
I attended the police station this morning to collect the In Reach devices, which were in a store room. With other Garmin devices. Like boxes and boxes of them! It was an incredible sight. They put the devices in an envelope and, with great process, sealed them with a wax stamp. They then handed them back to me.
Lessons learned:
- do not travel to India with any Garmin GPS devices
- research your intended destination as well as any transit countries for similar bear traps
- if you have to take a GPS into India, pack it / them in your hold luggage
- if you get stopped at an Indian airport with a GPS, I recommend allowing the devices to go in the bin (not that this was offered as an option for me, but I have heard of this happening since I started researching these issues) rather than fighting to keep them
- if you get caught in the same process as I did, it seems there is a very clear legal precedent for there being no case to answer if, as in my case, you have made an error in bringing them in not knowing the laws of India regarding GPS devices.
I hope this information is of use to any travellers to India.
