Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 3 Former Kerala Minister and ruling Left Front legislator Antony Raju has suffered a major legal and political setback after the Nedumangad Judicial First Class Magistrate Court on Saturday sentenced him to three years' imprisonment in the 'thondimuthal' (material evidence) tampering case.
Raju is a serving MLA of Janadhipathya Kerala Congress, an LDF member.
Earlier in the day, he was found guilty and the sentence was delivered in the evening.
However, the court granted the two accused bail as they have been given a month's time to approach the higher courts, if they desire.
With the jail sentence exceeding two years, Antony Raju stands disqualified from the Kerala Assembly and will also be barred from contesting future elections, in line with settled Supreme Court rulings.
Even if a higher court grants a stay on the sentence, the disqualification will continue unless the conviction itself is set aside.
The court found Antony Raju guilty of criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence, and fabrication of false evidence.
He was sentenced to six months' imprisonment for conspiracy, three years' rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 10,000 for destroying evidence, and three years' imprisonment for creating false evidence.
He also received a two-year sentence in a forgery-related charge linked to the case.
The prosecution's demand that the case be tried by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court was rejected by the Magistrate.
The case relates to allegations that material evidence -- specifically a piece of underwear produced as 'thondimuthal' (evidence) was tampered with to help a foreign national accused in a narcotics case to escape conviction.
Antony Raju was the second accused in the case.
The first accused, Jose, a court employee, was also convicted and sentenced to three years' imprisonment.
A large mob had gathered before the court to hear the court judgment and angry Congress-led UDF supporters was seen shouting and hooting the MLA when he came out of the court and the police had a tough time to put him in his car.
The case dates back to 1990, when Australian national Andrew Salvatore Cervelli was arrested at the Thiruvananthapuram airport for allegedly attempting to smuggle 61.5 grams of contraband concealed in his underwear.
Raju, then a young lawyer at the start of his political career, appeared as Cervelli's counsel.
The trial court convicted Cervelli and sentenced him to 10 years' imprisonment.
However, in a dramatic turn, the Kerala High Court acquitted Cervelli on appeal after finding that the underwear produced as evidence was too small to fit him, raising serious doubts about the prosecution's case.
Cervelli subsequently returned to Australia.
Years later, following information received from the Australian National Central Bureau, the investigating officer approached the High Court seeking a probe into the alleged tampering of material evidence.
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