KOCHI: The Kerala high court on Friday quashed a case against minister Antony Raju that alleged causing disappearance of evidence and giving false evidence to a court.
Justice Ziyad Rahman AA considered a petition (Crl. MC No. 5261/22) filed by the minister through senior advocate P Vijayabhanu. The petitioner had challenged the cognizance taken by JFCM-I, Nedumangad on the basis of a final report filed by Vanchiyoor police in 2006.
In the judgment (2023/KER/14708), the high court said even though its interference is due to technical reasons, it does not preclude the competent authority from pursuing the case in accordance with law.
The case originated from a narcotics case of 1994 in which Antony Raju had represented the accused as a lawyer. An Australian citizen who was the accused in the narcotics case was convicted by a sessions court but was acquitted by the high court upon finding that the material evidence, an underwear, was not suitable in size to the accused. A case was registered against Antony Raju, who was the lawyer for the accused, and a staff of the lower court alleging conspiracy and tampering with material evidence.
