Archive · 5 Jan 2026
Kerala MLA Antony Raju Disqualified After Conviction
Antony Raju, a former minister and MLA from Thiruvananthapuram, has been disqualified from the Kerala Legislative Assembly.
This happened because he was found guilty of tampering with evidence in a drug case that happened in 1990.
The court sentenced him to three years in prison.
The case was about 61.5 grams of hashish seized from an Australian national at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.
Raju, who was a junior lawyer at the time, was accused of tampering with important evidence.
Along with him, a former court clerk was also convicted.
Raju claims the case is politically motivated and says he is innocent.
The seat he represented is now vacant.
Antony Raju, a former Kerala minister and MLA from Thiruvananthapuram, has been disqualified from the Kerala Legislative Assembly.
He was convicted for tampering with evidence in a 1990 drug seizure case involving 61.5 grams of hashish.
The conviction resulted in a three-year simple imprisonment sentence and disqualification under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
The case was initially quashed by the High Court in 2023 but was restored by the Supreme Court in 2024.
Raju maintains his innocence, claiming the case is politically motivated.
- Who
- Antony Raju, former Kerala minister and MLA from Thiruvananthapuram
- What
- Disqualification from the Kerala Legislative Assembly due to conviction for evidence tampering
- When
- January 3, 2026
- Where
- Kerala, India
- Why
- Conviction in a 1990 drug seizure case involving evidence tampering
- Name
- Antony Raju
- Party
- Janadhipathya Kerala Congress
- Constituency
- Thiruvananthapuram
- Conviction Date
- January 3, 2026
- Sentence
- Three years of simple imprisonment
- Case Details
- Evidence tampering in 1990 drug seizure case
- Disqualification Date
- January 3, 2026
- Legal Basis
- Representation of the People Act, 1951 and Supreme Court rulings
