Kochi, Feb 22 Antony Raju, leader of a ruling LDF constituent, has approached the Kerala High Court seeking to set aside his conviction and three-year sentence awarded by a magistrate court in an evidence tampering case.
Raju's Janadhipathya Kerala Congress is a constituent of the CPI(M)-led LDF in Kerala.
He was sentenced to three years’ simple imprisonment by the Judicial First Class Magistrate-I Court, Nedumangad, in a case related to tampering with evidence while appearing as a lawyer for an Australian national arrested in a drug case in 1990.
Following his conviction, the Kerala Legislative Assembly Secretariat issued a notification confirming his disqualification.
Recently, the Thiruvananthapuram District and Sessions Court dismissed his plea seeking to set aside the conviction and sentence.
In his petition before the High Court, Raju said the application for suspension of conviction was filed as he, being a sitting member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, stood disqualified from holding office solely due to the conviction.
According to him, unlike a sentence of imprisonment, the disqualification under Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act is self-operating and instantaneous, leaving no scope for restitution unless the conviction itself is suspended.
“The petitioner’s right to contest the upcoming general election to the State Legislative Assembly is put in peril due to the conviction imposed on him vide the judgment impugned in the criminal appeal, which is indefensible both on facts and law,” the petition stated.
He contended that the conviction and sentence passed by the magistrate court were against the law, facts and evidence, and alleged that the court had committed grave errors in the appreciation of evidence.
“The sentence passed by the court below is excessive and has not taken into consideration the delay of 35 years. The sentence was passed only to disqualify the petitioner under the Representation of the People Act,” the petition said.
The plea is likely to come up for consideration in the coming days.
