Overview
- Judicial First Class Magistrate Ruby Ismail in Nedumangad convicted Raju of criminal conspiracy, causing disappearance of evidence, giving false evidence and forgery.
- Raju received sentences including three years each under IPC Sections 201 and 193, six months under 120B and two years under 465, with the court proceeding to sentence rather than transfer the matter.
- The court granted him bail and, as police noted, he will not be taken into custody immediately, giving time to file an appeal.
- Co-accused court clerk K S Jose was also found guilty and sentenced for his role in securing custody of the garment and facilitating tampering.
- The case traces to a 1990 seizure of 61.5 g of hashish hidden in an accused’s underwear, which forensic analysis later found had been cut and re-stitched, and the Supreme Court in 2024 set aside a High Court quashing to allow the trial that examined 29 witnesses to conclude.