NEW DELHI: In a setback to Kerala MLA and former minister Antony Raju, Supreme Court has revived criminal proceedings against him in an evidence tampering case lodged against him three decades back when he was a practising lawyer.
Raju had appeared for an accused who was an Australian national. He had allegedly tampered with evidence to protect his client in a drug trafficking case.
A bench of Justices C T Ravikumar and Sanjay Karol has directed that the trial in this case be completed in a year. The Kerala high court (HC) had earlier quashed the criminal case but allowed fresh proceedings to be initiated.
The case originates from a 1990 drug seizure involving an Australian national who was found in possession of drugs hidden in the pocket of his underwear. The trial court had convicted the Australian national under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act but the Kerala HC acquitted him casting doubt on the integrity of the evidence.
The HC, while acquitting the accused, had directed a vigilance probe into potential evidence tampering. Following this inquiry, an FIR was registered in 1994, naming Raju and a court staff member as accused.