Supreme Court upholds detention of actor Ranya Rao, aide in gold smuggling case
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the preventive detention of Kannada actor Harshavardhini Ranya Rao and her alleged aide Sahil Jain in a gold smuggling case under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA).
According to Hindustan Times, a bench of justices MM Sundresh and NK Singh dismissed a petition filed by family members of the two accused, seeking their release. The petitioners had challenged a Karnataka high court order passed in December last year, which had upheld the detention orders issued by the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB).
The apex court ruled that there was sufficient material to justify the detention and noted a reasonable likelihood that the accused could engage in similar activities if released. It also held that there was no violation of Article 22 of the Constitution, which provides safeguards against unlawful detention.
Rejecting the petitioners’ claims, the court said the accused were not denied effective representation or access to documents. It held that there existed no absolute right to legal representation before an advisory board under preventive detention laws, and that “substantial compliance” with procedural requirements, such as showing electronic evidence like CCTV footage rather than physically handing over devices, as done in the present case, was sufficient.
“Having perused the grounds of detention, we find that adequate reasons have been recorded therein. The materials are also to the effect that there were prior occurrences of disposal of foreign marked-gold bars in India, and a live and proximate link qua the present incident also stands established insofar as the detenu - Shri Sahil Sarkariya Jain is concerned. Further, all the documents relied upon have been duly furnished to the detenus,” the Supreme Court said.
The case dates back to March 3, 2025, when Ranya Rao was caught at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, allegedly smuggling around 14 kg of gold bars from Dubai.
Jain is accused of having facilitated the disposal of consignments of foreign-marked gold bars on four different occasions between November 2024 and February 2025 along with Rao.
The Karnataka High Court had earlier upheld the CEIB’s April 22, 2025 detention order, finding no illegality in the preventive detention.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
