Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala MLA and former Transport Minister Antony Raju has been sentenced to three years of imprisonment by the Nedumangad Judicial First Class Magistrate Court after it found him guilty in the notorious ‘underwear’ evidence tampering case.

The sentence was announced on Saturday. The court also convicted K S Jose, a former clerk of a court in Thiruvananthapuram, in the case.

Both were found guilty under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 193 (giving false evidence), 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant), 465 (forgery) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).

Raju was sentenced to six months' imprisonment under Section 120B, three years under Section 201, three years under Section 193 and two years under Section 465.

Jose was sentenced to one year's imprisonment under Section 409, in addition to other sentences.

The case dates back to 1990 and involves Australian national Andrew Salvatore Cervelli, who was arrested at Thiruvananthapuram airport on April 4, carrying 61.5 grams of contraband hidden in his underwear. Antony Raju, then a junior lawyer under senior advocate Celine Wilfred, had represented Cervelli during the proceedings.

Cervelli was initially convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison with a ₹1 lakh fine by the trial court. However, the Kerala High Court later acquitted him, citing doubts over whether the underwear submitted as evidence actually belonged to him, which ultimately led to his  exoneration.