New Delhi: The Supreme Court today delivered its verdict in the evidence tampering case involving former minister and MLA of the Democratic Kerala Congress, Antony Raju. In a setback for Raju, the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal against the Kerala High Court’s order.
A bench headed by Justice C.T. Ravikumar ruled that Antony Raju must face trial in the case and directed that the trial proceedings be completed within a year. The court found no errors in the High Court’s earlier judgment, affirming the right of petitioner M.R. Ajayan to seek redress. The Supreme Court was considering a plea for a reinvestigation into the evidence tampering allegations.
The case dates back to 1990, when an Australian national, Andrew Salvador, was caught at Thiruvananthapuram Airport with drugs concealed in his undergarments. Antony Raju, who was also a lawyer, is accused of tampering with the evidence by allegedly altering the seized undergarments, making them unsuitable as evidence.
Raju’s appeal challenged the High Court’s directive for a reinvestigation, but the Supreme Court upheld the decision. The High Court had earlier clarified that the technical reasons for quashing the FIR against Raju did not prevent the trial court from proceeding with the case.
Antony Raju argued that he had no allegations against him in the vigilance report or the FIR and that the High Court did not find merit in the charges. Claiming innocence, Raju stated that he has been entangled in this case for over 33 years despite having no involvement.
The Supreme Court’s ruling reinforces the need for a thorough trial to bring the long-standing case to a conclusion.
