Kerala MLA and former Transport Minister Antony Raju has been convicted by a Kerala court in a sensational 33-year-old evidence-tampering case involving altered underwear submitted during a drug smuggling trial of an Australian national.
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KERALA: In a landmark judgment, the Nedumangadu Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-I has convicted Kerala MLA and former Transport Minister Antony Raju in a decades-old evidence-tampering case. The case, nearly 33 years old, involved allegations of manipulating evidence in the trial of an Australian national accused of drug smuggling.
The court found Antony Raju guilty under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 193 (fabricating false evidence), 409 (criminal breach of trust), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Also convicted in the case was KJ Jose, a former court clerk, under the same provisions. The charges carry a potential sentence of 10 years to life imprisonment, though the magistrate’s court can award a maximum of three years. The prosecution has filed a petition under Section 325 of the CrPC to transfer the case to a higher court for a stricter sentence.
Background: The Underwear Evidence-Tampering Case
The case traces back to 1990, when Antony Raju, then a junior lawyer, represented Andrew Salvatore Cervelli, an Australian national, who was arrested at Thiruvananthapuram airport for smuggling 61.5 grams of charas hidden in his underwear. Cervelli was initially convicted and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, but the Kerala High Court later acquitted him.
The acquittal was based on a key observation: the underwear presented as evidence was too small to fit Cervelli. During the appeal, a physical demonstration showed that the garment could not fit him, raising suspicions of evidence tampering.
Allegations Against Antony Raju
Investigations revealed that Antony Raju allegedly conspired with court clerk KJ Jose to tamper with the evidence. It was alleged that Raju took the underwear from the court’s material room, had it altered to a smaller size, and returned it to ensure it would not fit his client during the High Court hearing.
Further momentum came when Interpol informed Indian authorities that Cervelli admitted to the tampering while serving a sentence in Australia. The FIR was registered in 1994, and the chargesheet was filed in 2014.
Legal Proceedings Over Three Decades
The case faced multiple legal hurdles over 30 years. In March 2023, the Kerala High Court quashed proceedings on a technical ground, stating the police lacked authority to investigate evidence kept in court custody. However, in November 2024, the Supreme Court of India restored the trial, ruling that procedural bars did not apply and emphasizing the severity of tampering with judicial processes.
