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Journalism of Courage
A Special Court of Economic Offences in Bengaluru Friday (March 14) rejected the bail plea of Kannada actor Harshavardhini Ranya alias Ranya Rao, who was arrested for allegedly smuggling over 14 kilograms of gold on a flight from Dubai to Bengaluru earlier this month.
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials called it “one of the biggest seizures of gold at Bengaluru airport in recent times.”
The DRI is investigating whether this was an isolated incident or a part of a series of gold-smuggling trips, noting that Rao travelled to Dubai frequently. The case has also raised questions on possible police involvement as local officers would escort Rao home from the airport after she returned from her frequent trips to Dubai.
How is gold smuggling governed in India? What is the case against Rao?
Until its repeal in 1990, the Gold (Control) Act, 1968, curbed gold imports and placed heavy restrictions on the acquisition, possession, and disposal of gold in India. However, with economic liberalisation in the 1990s, the government modified its approach, imposing an import duty on gold at the rate of Rs 250 for every 10 grams, leading to a boom in gold imports in the following years.
Now, gold imports are largely governed under the Customs Act, 1962, and by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). The customs duty for gold may differ depending on the amount of gold carried by a passenger and the duration spent abroad before traveling back to India, as per the Baggage Rules, 2016 (issued under the Customs Act).
Under these rules, a man residing abroad for over a year may carry up to 20 grams of jewellery duty free (with a value cap of Rs 50,000) and a woman may similarly carry up to 40 grams (with a cap of Rs 1 lakh). The CBIC also has specific guidelines for Indian passengers returning from Dubai after residing there for over six months, allowing them to carry up to 1 kg of gold as long as the applicable customs duty is paid.
The customs duty for gold is:
3% customs duty: for men carrying 20-50 grams of gold and women carrying 40-100 grams;
6% customs duty: for men carrying 50-100 grams and women carrying 100-200 grams;
10% customs duty: For men carrying over 100 grams and women carrying over 200 grams.
In 2003, the Supreme Court held that any article imported without complying with the relevant conditions or restrictions must be considered a “prohibited good”. Such goods are liable to be confiscated under Section 111 and punished under Section 112 of the Customs Act. The punishment may include a fine of up to the value of the goods. Section 135 provides a punishment of up to 7 years imprisonment if the market price of the smuggled goods exceeds Rs. 1 lakh.
Smuggling is also punishable under Section 111 (Organised Crime) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which punishes “trafficking in…illicit goods” with imprisonment of at least five years, extendable to life imprisonment. The UAPA also carries the same punishment for smuggling as a “terrorist act” under Section 15 if it causes “damage to the monetary stability of India”.
In a statement issued on March 5, the DRI said, “Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officers intercepted an Indian lady passenger aged around 33 years, who had arrived from Dubai to Bengaluru via Emirates flight on March 3, 2025. Upon examination, gold bars weighing 14.2 kg were found ingeniously concealed on (her) person”.
The DRI claims Rao travelled to Dubai 27 times over six months.
The DRI searched Rao’s residence and according to their statement, “The search resulted in the seizure of gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs 2.67 crore”, placing the total seizure in the case at Rs. 17.29 crore.
Rao used VIP channels to exit the Bengaluru airport whenever she arrived. A protocol official would escort her to the exit where local police would receive her and take her home, bypassing the extensive checks for regular passengers. The Indian Express reported that Rao’s stepfather, a senior IPS officer and DGP, was linked to a robbery of a gold consignment from Kerala to Karnataka over a decade ago. He was later transferred, though no official action was taken against him.
On March 10, the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms in Karnataka ordered Additional Chief Secretary Gaurav Gupta to probe the alleged misuse of official privileges and protocol benefits by Rao, with her stepfather being the focus of the investigation.
