Kerala MLA Antony Raju gets disqualified for conviction in 1990 drug case

According to the notification published on Monday in the Kerala Gazette by the Secretariat of the Kerala Legislature, he was disqualified under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and the relevant Supreme Court decisions.

The former MLA was disqualified after being sentenced to a three-year term of simple imprisonment.

The notification stated, "Shri. Antony Raju, an elected Member of Fifteenth Kerala Legislative Assembly from '134-Thiruvananthapuram' Assembly Constituency is sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for three years in Calendar Case No. 811/2024 of the Judicial First Class Magistrate -I, Nedumangad. Consequently, as per the provisions of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951 and the relevant Supreme Court decisions, Shri. Antony Raju, has become disqualified to be a Member of the Legislative Assembly."

As a result of the conviction, the notification also declared the vacancy of the '134-Thiruvananthapuram' seat in the Kerala Legislative Assembly from January 3.

It stated in the end, "Therefore, the '134-Thiruvananthapuram' seat in the Kerala Legislative Assembly has become vacant with effect from 3rd January 2026."

The Nedumangadu Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-I on Saturday found Kerala ruling front MLA and former Transport Minister Antony Raju guilty in the decades-old evidence tampering case linked to the 1990 arrest of an Australian national at Thiruvananthapuram airport.

The case dates back to 1990, when Andrew Salvatore Cervelli, an Australian citizen, was arrested at the airport for possession of 61.5 grams of hashish allegedly concealed in a secret pocket of the dark blue underwear he was wearing. Antony Raju, then a junior lawyer, had appeared as defence counsel for Cervelli.

The Youth Congress workers also held a protest march to the Secretariat on Saturday, demanding the resignation of Kerala ruling front MLA and former Transport Minister Antony Raju, after he was found guilty in the evidence tampering case linked to the 1990 arrest of the Australian national at Thiruvananthapuram airport.