Kochi | The Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed the plea of former state Transport Minister Antony Raju seeking suspension of his conviction in the evidence tampering so that he can contest in the upcoming Assembly polls.
Justice C Jayachandran dismissed the plea moved by Raju, a leader of the Janadhipathya Kerala Congress -- a constituent of the CPI(M)-led LDF in Kerala. The detailed order is awaited.
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 as MLA.
Raju represented the Thiruvananthapuram Central Assembly constituency.
In his plea to the High Court, Raju has said the application for suspension of conviction was filed because, as a sitting member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, he 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 via the judgment impugned in the criminal appeal, which is indefensible both on facts and law," his petition had said.
He had also contended that the conviction and sentence passed by the magistrate's 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 had said.