Former Minister Antony Raju Found Guilty in 35-Year-Old Evidence Tampering Case
Former Minister and sitting MLA Antony Raju has been found guilty in a three-and-a-half-decade-long evidence tampering case. The verdict was pronounced by the Nedumangad Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, marking a significant development in a case that has spanned 35 years. Antony Raju is the second accused in the prolonged legal battle.
The case dates back to 1990 when Australian citizen Andrew Salvator Servelli was apprehended at Thiruvananthapuram airport. Servelli was arrested for attempting to smuggle 61.5 grams of drugs, which he had concealed in his underwear. The core accusation against Antony Raju, who served as Servelli’s lawyer at the time, is that he tampered with the crucial piece of evidence – the underwear – to facilitate the accused’s acquittal. Raju has been charged under six distinct sections of the law.
Legal implications of the verdict are substantial. If the former minister receives a sentence exceeding two years, his membership in the legislative assembly will automatically be revoked. Furthermore, unless the High Court intervenes to stay the conviction, Antony Raju will be barred from contesting future legislative assembly elections.
The prosecution alleged that Antony Raju, then a practicing lawyer, conspired with his clerk, Jose, to alter the size of the underwear that was held as evidence at the Thiruvananthapuram Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-2. The tampered garment was then allegedly replaced with the original to mislead the court and secure an acquittal for the foreign national in the drug trafficking case. Police formally registered a case against Antony Raju and bench clerk Jose in 1994, specifically for the alleged manipulation of evidence at the Nedumangad court.
Initially, despite being convicted by the trial court, the Australian national, Andrew Salvator Servelli, quickly appealed to the High Court. He was subsequently acquitted and departed the country the very next day. Years later, new information emerged from the Australian National Central Bureau, prompting the investigating officer to approach the High Court once more, seeking a thorough investigation into the alleged destruction and tampering of evidence that led to Servelli’s earlier acquittal.