Former Kerala minister Antony Raju gets 3-year jail for evidence tampering, set to be disqualified

Thiruvananthapuram: The Nedumangad first class judicial magistrate on Saturday sentenced former transport minister and LDF MLA Antony Raju to three years' imprisonment for tampering with evidence to help a foreign national accused in a 1990 drug seizure case.The sentence has necessitated Raju's disqualification under the Representation of the People Act. The assembly secretariat is expected to issue a formal directive in this regard after seeking legal opinion. Raju, who currently represents the Thiruvananthapuram assembly constituency, would also be disqualified from contesting the 2026 assembly elections. He is a leader of the Janadhipathya Kerala Congress party, a constituent of the ruling LDF.The court also convicted K S Jose, a former court clerk in Thiruvananthapuram, in the case. Both were found guilty under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 193 (giving false evidence), 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant), 465 (forgery) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).Raju was sentenced to six months' imprisonment under Section 120B, three years under Section 201, three years under Section 193 and two years under Section 465. The sentences shall run concurrentlyJose was sentenced to one-year imprisonment under Section 409, in addition to other sentences. The court imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on Jose, while Raju was directed to pay a fine of Rs 10,000.The court, however, granted bail to both the accused and allowed them one month to file appeals against the verdict. Public prosecutor P P Manmohan said the court had awarded the maximum punishment to the former minister.Meanwhile, K K Jayamohan, the investigating officer in the original drug seizure case, welcomed the verdict. "For me, the conviction matters more than the quantum of sentence. Those responsible have been punished," he told reporters.The case dates back to April 4, 1990, when Australian national Andrew Salvatore Cervelli was arrested at Thiruvananthapuram airport with two packets of hashish allegedly concealed in his underwear. While a sessions court later sentenced Cervelli to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment, Kerala HC acquitted him in 1994. The acquittal was based on the defence argument that the underwear in which the contraband was allegedly concealed was too small to fit the accused.Cervelli later returned to Australia. Subsequently, Jayamohan reported to the state police chief that evidence tampering had occurred. A probe by HC vigilance wing, followed by a police investigation, found that Raju and Jose had allegedly conspired to tamper with the undergarment.According to the prosecution, Raju, who was then a junior lawyer in Thiruvananthapuram, conspired with the court clerk to alter the underwear produced as evidence. It was alleged that during the trial, Raju obtained custody of the material object on the pretext of complying with a court order to return the accused's personal belongings, altered it, and then returned it to the court.The trial faced prolonged delays and procedural hurdles for more than three decades. In March 2023, HC quashed the proceedings against Raju on technical grounds, ruling that the police lacked jurisdiction to investigate alleged evidence tampering involving court custody and that the trial court itself should initiate the complaint. However, in Nov 2024, Supreme Court set aside the HC order, restored the trial, and held that interference with judicial processes strikes at the very foundation of justice. The apex court also directed that the trial should be completed within one year.