The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the preventive detention issued by the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) of Kannada actor Harshavardini Rania Rao and co-accused Sahil Jain under the Preservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA) in the alleged gold smuggling case.
A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and NK Singh dismissed the petition filed by the family members of the accused, seeking their release. The petitioners had challenged the Karnataka High Court order passed in December last year, which had ruled that there was nothing illegal in the detention orders issued by the CEIB in the case.
The Supreme Court held that the authorities had sufficient evidence to justify their detention and a reasonable basis to conclude that they could engage in similar activities if released. The commission said it did not find any violation of Article 22 of the Constitution, which provides guarantees to citizens against arrest and detention in some cases.
The bench rejected the petitioners’ arguments that Rao and Jain were denied effective representation or access to documents relied upon by the authorities in the case. It held that there was no absolute right to legal representation before an advisory board under pretrial detention laws, and that “substantial compliance” with procedural requirements, such as showing electronic evidence such as CCTV footage rather than actually handing over the devices, as occurred in this case, was sufficient.
“After perusing the grounds for detention, we find that sufficient reasons have been recorded therein. The materials also indicate that there were previous incidents of disposal of foreign premium gold bullion in India and there is a live and close connection with the present incident in relation to the detainee – Shri Sahil Sarkaria Jain. Further, all the documents relied upon have been duly produced to the detainee,” the Supreme Court said.
In December 2025, a division bench of the Karnataka High Court dismissed the petition filed by Rao’s mother and Jain’s relatives challenging the CEIB’s April 22, 2025 order keeping the duo in preventive custody after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence revealed that the actress was indulging in gold smuggling. She was caught red-handed at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru while smuggling around 14 kg of gold bullion from Dubai on March 3, 2025.
Jain is accused of facilitating the disposal of foreign-marked gold bullion consignments on four different occasions between November 2024 and February 2025 along with Rao.
