BENGALURU: The Karnataka excessive court docket on Saturday rejected the bail petitions of actress Harshavardhini Ranya Rao and Tarun Konduru Raju, the primary and second accused within the gold smuggling case.
Justice S Vishwajith Shetty dismissed their pleas, although the detailed order is but to be made out there.

Earlier, on March 27, 2025, the Periods Court docket had denied bail to Ranya Rao, following the same rejection by the Particular Court docket for Financial Offences in Bengaluru on March 14, 2025. On April 7, 2025, the Particular Court docket for Financial Offences additionally refused bail to Tarun Raju, a US citizen.
In line with the Directorate of Income Intelligence (DRI), Ranya Rao was intercepted and apprehended round 6:30 pm on March 3, 2025, primarily based on credible info that she was carrying smuggled gold. Officers recovered 14,213.05 grams of gold, valued at Rs 12,56,43,362, hid round her waist and calf muscle groups utilizing crepe bandages and tissues.
The DRI knowledgeable the Excessive Court docket that since 2023, Ranya Rao and Tarun Raju had traveled to and from Dubai 34 instances. Relating to the arrest memo, the company advised the court docket that it was handed over to Ranya Rao’s husband, Jatin, and it contained the grounds of arrest, causes to imagine, and the need for arrest.
Throughout arguments, counsel for Ranya Rao alleged that the DRI manipulated the paperwork introduced earlier than the courts, claiming that completely different units of paperwork had been produced. He additional contended that the offences are compoundable as the utmost sentence doesn’t exceed seven years.
In the meantime, a detention order below the Conservation of International Change and Prevention of Smuggling Actions Act (COFEPOSA) was handed towards Ranya Rao by the Central Authorities on April 22.