Ex-Kerala minister sentenced to three years in jail for evidence tampering in drugs case
Thiruvananthapuram (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.
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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.
The court imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on Jose, and Raju was directed to pay a fine of Rs 10,000.
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.
The court in its judgement observed that the accused was a court staff and the second was an advocate of law at the time of the commission of the offences proved in this case.
“The offences established in this case strike at the very foundation of the administration of justice and involve deliberate interference with a material object kept in the custody of the court. Such conduct, particularly when committed by persons who were expected to uphold the sanctity of judicial proceedings, cannot be viewed lightly,” the court said.
The benevolent provisions of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958, are not applicable in the present case, it said.
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.
KK 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.
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.
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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, the investigating officer, Jayamohan, 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 1994, and a charge sheet was filed against the accused in 2005. 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, 55 documents and two material objects were examined.
Meanwhile, Congress activists staged a protest near the court complex, demanding Raju’s resignation as MLA.
When Raju was returning from the court, his car was blocked by Congress activists.
Later, police resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the mob, and some of the activists suffered injuries in the action.
Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan said that he had raised the matter in the Assembly multiple times.
“He should not have been made a minister despite Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan knowing about the case. He committed a grave crime by tampering with evidence in a narcotics case involving a foreign national. Despite this, the Chief Minister made him a minister for two-and-a-half years,” Satheesan said.
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Mangaluru: Man sentenced to 20 years rigorous imprisonment in POCSO case
Mangaluru: A court in Mangaluru has sentenced a 44-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment in connection with a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
According to Deccan Herald, the Additional District and Sessions Judge, FTSC-II (POCSO), Maanu K S, delivered the judgment.
The convict has been identified as Dayanand Moolya (44).
According to Special Public Prosecutor Sahana Devi Boloor, the incident occurred on November 16, 2025, when a seven-year-old girl was studying alone at home and the accused illegally entered the house and raped her. He threatened to kill her and throw her into a well if she revealed it to anyone.
The survivor later informed her mother, following which a complaint was registered at Mulki Police Station on November 22. Police Inspector Manjunath B S investigated the case and submitted the charge sheet to the court.
For the rape, under POCSO Section 6, along with Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act 65(2) and POCSO 4(2), the man has been sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 30,000. For illegal entry into the house, under BNS Section 332(B), the convict has been sentenced to three years of simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000. For issuing death threats, under BNS Section 351(3), he has been sentenced to two years of simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000.
The court also directed payment of Rs 4 lakh as compensation to the survivor, including Rs 40,000 from the fine amount, and instructed the District Legal Services Authority to provide the remaining Rs 3.60 lakh.
