K'taka HC asks Centre to file objection on Ranya Rao's petition challenging COFEPOSA Act

Bengaluru, May 13 (IANS) The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday directed the Union government to file its objections within two weeks in connection with the petition filed by jailed actress Ranya Rao, challenging the invocation of the COFEPOSA Act against her in the gold smuggling case.

The Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (COFEPOSA), has been invoked against arrested Kannada actress Ranya Rao. The Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB), a nodal agency under the Ministry of Finance, has invoked the COFEPOSA Act against the actress and other accused in the gold smuggling case as per the recommendation of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), probing the case.

Following the invocation of the COFEPOSA Act, the accused Ranya Rao will have no chance to get bail for a period of one year.

The bench has asked the Central government to file the objections within two weeks and adjourned the matter to June 3.

A vacation bench of Justice H.P. Sandesh and Justice Ramachandra Huddar gave the directions while looking into the petitin by Ranya Rao seeking to declare that imposing the COFEPOSA Act against her is illegal and viod ab initio (void from the beginning. In legal contexts, it means that a contract, agreement, or other action is considered invalid and has no legal effect from the moment it was created).

Deputy Solicitor General H. Shanthi Bhushan, representing the government of India, submitted that he needed four weeks’ time to file objections. Senior counsel Chandra Shekara. K. appeared for Ranya Rao.

Ranya Rao is presently lodged in Bengaluru Central Prison, following the cancellation of bail petitions. Her petition submitted that the constitutional provisions are violated in her case, and the grounds of her detention are erroneous and display a lack of application of mind.

Ranya Rao, the stepdaughter of senior police officer Ramchandra Rao, was arrested on March 3 for allegedly smuggling 14.2 kilograms of gold, valued at over Rs 12.56 crore.

Ranya Rao and the other two accused in the case are presently lodged at the Bengaluru Central Prison.

--IANS

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