The Kerala High Court on Friday observed that it will be difficult to prove that former Kerala Transport Minister Antony Raju had an intention to tamper with evidence in a 1990 drug case when he was a junior lawyer.
Justice C. Jayachandran also asked whether Mr. Raju’s senior counsel knew about the tampering of evidence.
During the hearing, the court asked how he could be held criminally liable, according to a senior government lawyer. The court also asked how any motive or intention to tamper with evidence could be attributed to Mr. Raju, the lawyer said.
The prosecution told the court that the evidence was tampered with while in Mr Raja’s custody.
The Supreme Court’s comments and stance came during the hearing of Mr. Raju’s plea to suspend his conviction for tampering with evidence so that he can contest the upcoming parliamentary elections.
The state government, on the other hand, told the Supreme Court that granting him relief “would undermine the integrity of the electoral process”. After hearing arguments from both sides, the High Court reserved its decision on the objection of Mr. Raju, leader of the Janadhipathy Kerala Congress, which is part of the LDF-led CPI(M) in Kerala.
He moved the Supreme Court after the Thiruvananthapuram District and Sessions Court refused to stay his conviction.
Published – 06 March 2026 21:20 IST
