Kerala HC quashes ‘underwear’ case against Minister Antony Raju

Kochi: The Kerala High Court (HC) on Friday quashed the case of an alleged ‘underwear’ evidence tampering against State Transport Minister Antony Raju.
The court gave the verdict on a plea moved by Raju to quash the case against him.
The case dates back to the year 1990 when Raju was a junior lawyer representing an Australian citizen Andrew Salvatore Cervelli, who was accused of smuggling hashish by concealing it in his underwear.
When Cervelli approached the HC in appeal against his conviction by a trial court more than 30 years ago, the underwear in question was found to have mysteriously shrunk in size, leading the HC to acquit Cervelli of all charges.
A few years later, the investigating officer in the smuggling case, approached the HC seeking a probe into the alleged evidence tampering.
Later, an FIR was registered against Raju in 1994 on a complaint filed by an official of the Sessions Court, Thiruvananthapuram.