In November 2024, the Supreme Court dismissed Raju’s appeal, revived the criminal case against him, and directed the trial court to complete the trial within a year. File Photo The Supreme Court Monday refused to suspend the conviction of former Kerala minister Antony Raju in a 1990 narcotics case involving evidence tampering, in which he was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and S C Sharma dismissed his appeal against a Kerala High Court order that had declined to grant him relief. Antony Raju, an MLA from the Janadhipathya Kerala Congress, previously served as a minister in the state’s ruling Left Democratic Front. The case dates back to 1990 , when the police arrested an Australian national under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act after drugs were allegedly found concealed in his underwear. A trial court sentenced the Australian citizen to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.…