Kannada actress Harshavardhini Ranya Rao, who was arrested in connection with an alleged gold smuggling case, has argued before the Karnataka High Court that the search and seizure operation carried out against her by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) was in clear violation of the Customs Act. The argument was made during the hearing of her bail application on Thursday, April 17.
Representing Rao, Senior Advocate Sandesh J Chouta submitted before Justice S Vishwajith Shetty that the procedural safeguards under Section 102 of the Customs Act were not properly followed during the search. The section specifically allows a person to demand that the search be conducted in the presence of a gazetted officer of customs or a magistrate.
“Section 102 of the Customs Act, compliance is not done. If it is violated then the entire seizure goes and everything else goes,” Chouta argued, highlighting a fundamental procedural lapse
The senior counsel also pointed out discrepancies in the mahazar (the seizure record) and raised questions regarding the notices that were issued to Rao prior to the search. He told the court that consent for the search was neither properly sought nor documented. He emphasized that the same officer, who led the search and arrest team, was shown as a gazetted officer in the records, which raised serious concerns over the fairness of the process.
Chouta further submitted that the authorities failed to comply with the legal requirement of informing the family about the grounds of arrest in writing. Instead, he claimed the DRI only conveyed the information over a phone call. They called my husband and informed about the grounds of arrest. Thus it was done telephonically and not in writing as is mandated, he told the court.
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During the proceedings, the court inquired whether Rao disputed the signatures on the notices that were served to her. To this, her counsel confirmed that there was no such dispute over the signatures.
Highlighting the nature of the offence, Chouta also reminded the court that cases under the Customs Act are usually bailable by a Magistrate since the offences are compoundable and the punishment is less than seven years. He stressed the fact that the petitioner, being a woman, has already spent over 45 days in judicial custody.
After hearing the submissions, the court adjourned the matter for further consideration. The bail petitions filed by Rao and her co-accused Tarun Konduru Raju have been listed for the next hearing on April 21. The Karnataka High Court has also directed the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and other respondents to file their objections to the petitions before the next hearing date.
The case against Ranya Rao arose after the seizure of gold bars valued at ₹12.56 crore from her possession at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport. Following this, a search of her residence led to the recovery of additional gold jewellery worth ₹2.06 crore along with Indian currency amounting to ₹2.67 crore.
Ranya Rao has been booked under multiple provisions of the Customs Act, including Section 135(1)(a), 135(1)(b), 135(1)(a)(i)(a), 135(1)(a)(i)(b), 135(1)(b)(i)(a), 135(1)(b)(i)(b), along with Section 104(4)(a), 104(4)(b), 104(6)(a), and 104(6)(c).
Case Title: Harshavardini Ranya Rao AND Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.
Case No: Criminal Petition 5047/2025 c/w Criminal Petition 5432/2025
