Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 3 (PTI) A court here on Saturday sentenced former Kerala transport minister Antony Raju and a court official to imprisonment for tampering with evidence in a 1990 drug seizure case.
Raju, a serving MLA of the Janadhipathya Kerala Congress and an LDF ally, was convicted by the Nedumangad Judicial First Class Magistrate Ruby Ismail in connection with tampering with evidence related to the seizure of 61.5 grams of hashish from an Australian national at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in 1990.
The court also convicted K S Jose, a former clerk of a court in Thiruvananthapuram, in the case.
Both were found guilty under various sections 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.
Jose was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment under Section 409, in addition to other sentences.
Earlier, the prosecution had sought transfer of the sentencing proceedings to the Chief Judicial Magistrate under Section 325 of the CrPC, citing the magistrate’s limited powers to award sentences exceeding three years.
However, the court dismissed the plea and proceeded with sentencing.
A police officer said Raju would not be taken into custody as the sentence awarded was less than three years. He was granted bail to enable him to file an appeal before a higher court.
Jaimohan, 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.
Before sentencing, Raju termed the case “politically motivated” and reiterated his innocence.
He said vigilance and police probes conducted during the A K Antony-led government in 2002 had found no evidence against him.
“I am confident of my innocence. Even innocent people can sometimes be punished by courts, and this is the latest example,” he said.
Raju, who was a junior lawyer at the time, had appeared for the accused, Andre Salvatore Cervelli.
While a sessions court had initially convicted Cervelli and sentenced him to 10 years’ imprisonment, the Kerala High Court acquitted him in 1994.
The acquittal was based on the defence argument that the innerwear in which the contraband was allegedly concealed was too small to fit the accused.
Cervelli later returned to Australia. Subsequently, investigating officer Jaimohan reported to the state police chief that evidence tampering had occurred.
A probe by the Kerala High Court vigilance wing, followed by a police investigation, found that Raju and Jose had conspired to tamper with the undergarment, a crucial piece of evidence.
The case was registered in 2005, and a charge sheet was filed against the accused. Although the Kerala High Court quashed the case in 2023, the Supreme Court in 2024 set aside the order and directed the trial court to complete the proceedings within one year.
During the trial, 29 witnesses were examined.
Meanwhile, Congress activists staged a protest near the court complex, demanding Raju’s resignation as MLA. PTI TBA SSK TBA SSK ROH
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