Bengaluru: The Supreme Court Thursday upheld the preventive detention of Kannada actor Ranya Rao, daughter of suspended senior IPS officer Ramachandra Rao, and her associate Sahil Sakariya Jain, a Ballari-based gold trader, under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities (Cofeposa) Act.According to sources, Ranya’s detention under the Act ends midnight on April 22. A bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice N Kotiswar Singh dismissed the appeals filed by family members against a Dec 2025 Karnataka high court ruling. The apex court held that the authorities had followed all procedural safeguards and there was sufficient “subjective satisfaction” regarding the pair’s involvement in a large-scale gold smuggling syndicate.The court specifically rejected technical arguments concerning the non-supply of electronic evidence (a pen drive) in prison and the denial of legal representation before the advisory board, noting that a detenu does not have an automatic right to legal aid unless the state is also represented by a legal practitioner.Ranya was arrested on March 4, 2025, after being caught smuggling 14.2kg of gold, with investigation revealing a larger Rs 40-crore racket involving Jain.
