In a setback to former Kerala Transport Minister and ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) legislator Antony Raju, a court in Thiruvananthapuram sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment for tampering with evidence related to a drug seizure case.
The Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Nedumangadu, on Saturday (January 3, 2025) found him guilty of forging and planting material evidence following the drug seizure case booked in 1990.
Supreme Court restores criminal proceedings against ex-Kerala Minister Antony Raju in evidence tampering case
Mr. Raju, a leader of the Janadhipathya Kerala Congress, an LDF ally, will be disqualified as an MLA on account of his conviction. Under the Representation of the People Act, membership of the Legislative Assembly will be terminated if a court sentences a member to two years’ imprisonment or more. Although the court sentenced him to three years in jail, he was granted bail and one month’s time to appeal against the verdict.
The verdict comes 19 years after the chargesheet was filed against him. Mr. Raju was a junior lawyer appearing in the 1990 drug case involving an Australian national, Andrew Salvatore. It was alleged that Mr. Raju tampered with the Australian national’s undergarment, which was seized as material evidence. An FIR was filed in the evidence tampering case in 1994.
