Kannada film star Ranya Rao who is also known as Harshavardhini Ranya, has raised serious legal concerns over the search and seizure operations conducted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in relation to a gold smuggling case in which she is accused. Defending Ranya in the Karnataka High Court on Thursday, her senior counsel Advocate Sandesh J Chouta contended that the search contravened a requirement under Section 102 of the Customs Act. his section requires that individuals being searched must be offered the opportunity to be taken before a magistrate or a gazetted customs officer prior to the search which is a right that Ranya was allegedly denied.
No Dispute Over Consent Signatures
At the hearing, Justice S Vishwajith Shetty asked a direct question to the defence that whether Ranya had objected to her signature on the consent notices given during the DRI operation to which Her lawyer replied that she had not objected to signing the consent forms but clarified that the procedural protection under Section 102 still held regardless of her signature.
Bail Plea Adjourned To April 21
The court after listening to the initial arguments postponed the hearing of the bail applications made by Ranya Rao and her co-accused Tarun Konduru Raju to April 21, Justice Shetty has instructed the authorities to file their objections before the next hearing.
What Led To Ranya’s Arrest?
Ranya had been under surveillance due to her frequent international travel. Cops were suspicious after her visit to Dubai four times in 15 days. This prompted a targeted operation upon her return to Bengaluru. It was revealed in the investigation, that Ranya tried to smuggle gold by wearing a significant portion of it and concealing gold bars in her clothes. The value of 14.8 kg of gold, is estimated worth over Rs.12 crore.
