The Supreme Court has reinstated criminal charges against former Kerala Minister Antony Raju related to a drug evidence tampering case from 1990.
The Supreme Court has reinstated criminal proceedings against former Kerala transport minister Antony Raju for allegedly tampering with evidence in a drug case from 1990. A bench led by Justice CT Ravikumar and Justice Sanjay Karol stated that the High Court’s decision to allow new proceedings against Raju was legally valid. The Supreme Court instructed the trial court to finish the case within a year. The bench also ordered Raju to appear in court on December 20, 2024, or the next working day. Last year, on March 10, the Kerala High Court had dismissed the case on some technical grounds.
The case involves Raju, a member of the Janadhipathya Kerala Congress, which is part of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF). He was the lawyer for an Australian citizen arrested at Thiruvananthapuram airport for carrying hashish. The prosecution presented an innerwear as evidence, claiming it was used to smuggle the drugs. The Australian was sentenced to 10 years in prison but was acquitted by the high court in 1993 after his lawyer demonstrated that the innerwear was too small for him.
A police investigation later revealed that Raju, who represented the accused, had received the underwear from the court and returned it four months later, just before the accused appealed to the high court. As a result, a district court ordered a case against Raju and court clerk K Jose for tampering with evidence. The high court noted that the issues raised in the case pointed to a major flaw in how the proceedings began, which undermines the entire case. It stated, “Thus, it is crucial for the prosecution that this flaw is corrected, and the proceedings are properly initiated according to legal requirements.”
The High Court accepted the plea and stated that the order to acknowledge the final report and all subsequent actions, including those in the Judicial First Class Magistrate-I Nedumangad, are canceled. “However, this does not prevent the appropriate authority or court from addressing the matter and continuing the prosecution as per Section 195(1)(b) of the CrPC.” The court acknowledged that while it intervened for technical reasons, the serious nature of the allegations cannot be overlooked. The High Court emphasized that the evidence presented indicates serious allegations that disrupt judicial functions and “pollute the justice system.”
These actions must be handled firmly and with full effort. This court expects the relevant authorities to take positive and effective steps to ensure a fair trial according to the law and that those responsible are properly punished. Therefore, the court’s Registry is instructed to act promptly under the applicable sections of the CrPC mentioned earlier, keeping in mind that the alleged offenses occurred in 1990. Any further delay could undermine the entire purpose of this process.
