Karnataka High Court bars defamatory media statements against stepfather of actress Ranya Rao

The Karnataka High Court recently passed an ex-parte temporary injunction order restraining 39 media houses from telecasting, publishing or disseminating any defamatory statements against senior police officer K Ramachandra Rao (IPS), whose stepdaughter and Sandalwood actress Ranya Rao is currently under investigation in a gold smuggling case. .Justice HT Narendra Prasad passed the interim order on March 10. "Ad-interim ex-parte temporary injunction against the respondents, restraining them from telecasting or publishing or disseminating any content that is defamatory to the petitioner, till the next date of hearing," the judge ordered. .Ramachandra Rao's counsel contended that since he is neither an accused nor a witness in the gold smuggling case, his reputation cannot be tarnished by media houses.Senior Advocate Aruna Shyam and Advocates Sudharsan Suresh, Sainath DM, Akshay Vasisht, Neha Venkatesh and Ruthu Shivani represented Ramachandra Rao.Notably, on March 12, Ranya Rao's mother also secured a trial court order restraining the media from making defamatory statements against the actress amid concerns that sensationalised media coverage surrounding the gold smuggling case was violating her right to a fair trial..On March 3, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested Ranya Rao at the Bengaluru International Airport and allegedly seized 14.2 kg of gold worth ₹12.86 crores from her. It is claimed that she used to carry the gold in her belt and jacket to evade inspection by the customs officials.Ranya is accused of using the airport exit route reserved for VVIPs.DRI officials who searched her house are also said to have seized jewellery worth ₹2.06 crore and cash worth ₹2.67 crore. This took the total seizure in the case to ₹17.29 crore. The case drew significant media attention, with reports highlighting Rao's frequent travels to Dubai and an alleged misuse of VIP airport exits. Rao was remanded to three days in DRI's custody in this case on March 7 by a special court. On March 10, she was reportedly sent to judicial custody for 14 days..Meanwhile, her stepfather, Ramachandra Rao, who is a DGP rank police officer, moved a Bengaluru trial court to restrain any defamatory publications against him in the wake of the gold smuggling case registered against his daughter. On March 6, the trial court summoned various media houses against whom Ramachandra Rao had filed the suit and posted the case for further consideration on April 23, 2025. However, the trial court did not pass any ex-parte interim restraining order at the time, prompting the police officer to move the High Court seeking such relief. The High Court on March 10 allowed this prayer and passed an ex-parte order restraining any defamatory media publication against Rao. The case filed by Ranya Rao's mother, meanwhile, is slated to be heard next on June 2. Until then, all media houses named in the suit have been restrained from publishing defamatory content regarding the actress..Ranya Rao’s legal troubles have also affected her husband, Jatin Vijayakumar Hukkeri, who recently moved the Karnataka High Court seeking protection from arrest. The High Court on March 11 granted him interim relief and directed the DRI not to take any coercive action against him.