Former Kerala minister Antony Raju faced a major setback as the Supreme Court rejected his urgent plea to suspend his three-year sentence in a notorious evidence manipulation scandal from over three decades ago. The decision by Justices Deepankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma came on Monday, upholding the Kerala High Court’s refusal to grant any reprieve.
Raju, once a key figure in the LDF government as Transport Minister and the only legislator from his party, saw his political career derailed after the Nedumangad Magistrate Court convicted him. He ceased to be an MLA in January 2026.
Rewind to 1990: Andrew Salvatore Servelli, an Australian, was nabbed at Trivandrum airport hiding narcotics in his underwear. Raju, then an ambitious lawyer, took up his defense. The lower court found Servelli guilty, but the High Court overturned it, pointing to suspicious evidence—the undergarments were too small to credibly hold the drugs.
Australian intel sparked a deeper probe, uncovering claims that evidence was doctored in court custody. By 1994, FIRs targeted Raju and a clerk; charges came in 2006 after years of investigation.
Convicted on counts of conspiracy, evidence destruction, and falsification, Raju’s sentence stood despite a brief sessions court pause. The Supreme Court’s November 2024 intervention revived the case, mandating swift closure. Monday’s ruling seals his fate, with no stay in sight.
This outcome highlights the long arm of justice in tampering cases, particularly when politicians are involved. Raju’s downfall serves as a cautionary tale amid Kerala’s cutthroat political landscape, where past deeds catch up relentlessly.
