Kerala legislator convicted of tampering with evidence – drug accused client’s underwear – in 1990 case | India News

Raju was accused of tampering with the size of the underwear – in which 61.5 grams of hashish was found – to prove that it did not belong to his client.

Besides Raju, the first class magistrate court at Nedumangad in Thiruvananthapuram also awarded a court clerk, K Jose, three years in jail for his complicity in the crime. The court, though, allowed both Raju and Jose bail for a month, which will enable them to appeal against the verdict.

Raju, the lone legislator of CPI(M) ally Janadhipathya Kerala Congress, is currently representing the assembly constituency of Thiruvananthapuram. With his conviction in a criminal case, Raju will now face disqualification as a legislator.

The case of the shrinking underwear

The case against Raju stemmed from the arrest of an Australian citizen, Andrew Salvatore Cervelli, at the Thiruvananthapuram airport on April 9, 1990, after he was found carrying 61.5 g of hashish in his underwear. The prosecution had produced the garment as part of the evidence following which the trial court sentenced Cervelli to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. Cervelli appealed to the high court, which, in 1993, acquitted him after his counsel proved in the court that the underwear was too small to fit him. As the evidence was prima facie found tampered, the police probed into how the size of the underwear was reduced. The state forensic laboratory then found that it had been cut and re-stitched to make it smaller.

The probe showed Raju, who had appeared for the accused, had received the piece of clothing from the magistrate court’s custody with the complicity of the court clerk. Raju returned the garment four months later before the accused moved the HC, according to the investigation.

Based on the police report, the district court in Thiruvananthapuram ordered that a case be registered against Raju and clerk Jose in connection with tampering of material evidence.

Although police submitted the chargesheet in magistrate court in 2013, the case had been deferred several times and is pending trial.

While contesting the assembly elections in 2021, Raju, in his affidavit before the election commission, had stated about this pending case.

The prosecution had charged Raju and Jose with conspiracy, tampering with evidence, destruction of evidence, fabrication of false evidence, misconduct by a public servant, and fabrication of a forged document.