The Supreme Court on Monday (April 27, 2026) rejected the plea of former Kerala Minister Antony Raju, in which he had sought a stay on his conviction in a famous 1990 evidence tampering case.
The bench of Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma refused to interfere with the Kerala High Court order which had refused to stay his sentence. After this decision, the sentence given by the trial court and upheld by the appellate court will remain in effect.
Former Transport Minister Antony Raju was the only MLA from the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) party, the ruling Kerala Congress. He is no longer an MLA from January 2026. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment by the Nedumangad Judicial First Class Magistrate Court. This case dates back to 1990, when Australian citizen Andrew Salvatore Cervelli was arrested at Thiruvananthapuram airport with 61.5 grams of drugs, which he hid in underwear.
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At that time, young lawyer Antony Raju had fought Serveli’s case. While the lower court had convicted Servelli, the Kerala High Court later acquitted Servelli. The court found that the underwear presented as evidence was very short, casting serious doubt on the prosecution’s case.
Subsequent investigations, based on information received from Australian authorities, revealed allegations that physical evidence had been tampered with while in court custody. Ultimately, a criminal case was registered against Raju and a court clerk in 1994, following which, after a lengthy investigation, a charge sheet was filed in 2006.
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In November 2024, the Supreme Court canceled the order of the Kerala High Court, in which the criminal proceedings were terminated on technical grounds. Along with this, the court had directed to restart the prosecution and said that the trial should be completed within a year.
Raju was convicted on charges of criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence, fabricating false evidence and other related offences. Although the Sessions Court had stayed the sentence for the time being, but upheld the conviction.
