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{{short description|Indian politician}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Antony Raju
| image = Antony Raju.jpg
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1954|12|18}}
| birth_place = [[Thiruvananthapuram|Trivandrum]]
| residence = Nanthencode, [[Thiruvananthapuram]], [[Kerala]]
| office1 = [[Department of Transport (Kerala)|Minister for Transport]], [[Government of Kerala]]
| term_start1 = {{Start date|2021|05|02|df=yes}}
| term_end1 = {{End date|2023|12|24|df=yes}}
| predecessor1 = [[A. K. Saseendran]]
| successor1 = [[K.B. Ganesh Kumar]]
| constituency = [[Thiruvananthapuram (State Assembly constituency)|Thiruvananthapuram]]
| office = [[Member of Legislative Assembly (India)|Member]] of the [[Kerala Legislative Assembly]]
| term_start = {{Start date|2021|05|20|df=yes}}
| term_end = {{end date|2026|01|03|df=yes}}
| predecessor = [[V. S. Sivakumar]]
| successor =
| constituency1 = [[Thiruvananthapuram (State Assembly constituency)|Thiruvananthapuram]]
| office2 = [[Member of Legislative Assembly (India)|Member]] of the [[Kerala Legislative Assembly]]
| term_start2 = {{Start date|df=y|1996|05|20}}
| term_end2 = {{End date|df=y|2001|05|10}}
| constituency2 = [[Thiruvananthapuram (State Assembly constituency)|Thiruvananthapuram West]]
| predecessor2 = [[M. M. Hassan]]
| successor2 = [[M. V. Raghavan]]
| party = [[Janadhipathya Kerala Congress]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/elections-2016/india/india-news-india/kerala-elections-2016-kerala-congress-m-rebels-form-new-party-may-join-ldf/|title=Kerala Congress (M) rebels form new party, may join LDF|date=10 March 2016|work=The Indian Express|accessdate=23 April 2016}}</ref>
| spouse =
| children =
| website = [http://antonyraju.in/ www.antonyraju.in]
}}

'''Antony Raju''' is an Indian politician and a former [[Department of Transport (Kerala)|Minister for Transport]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://kerala.gov.in/documents/10180/10f1c4c2-f98b-4600-9b2a-749f33bdb791 |title=The Kerala Governor allots the Business of the Government among the following Ministers |access-date=21 May 2021 |archive-date=21 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521145347/https://kerala.gov.in/documents/10180/10f1c4c2-f98b-4600-9b2a-749f33bdb791 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Notifications - Government of Kerala, India|url=https://kerala.gov.in/notifications|access-date=2021-05-21|website=kerala.gov.in|archive-date=17 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517193517/https://kerala.gov.in/notifications|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Government of Kerala]]. A leader of [[Janadhipathya Kerala Congress]], he was elected to the [[Kerala Legislature|Kerala legislative assembly]] from [[Thiruvananthapuram (Lok Sabha constituency)|Thiruvananthapuram Constituency]] of Kerala in 2021. He was later disqualified under [[Representation of the People Act, 1951]]. Earlier he was the MLA of Thiruvananthapuram West Constituency from 1996 to 2001.

== Early life and education ==

Raju was born on 18 November 1954 in [[Poonthura]], [[Thiruvananthapuram|Trivandrum]] to S Alphonse and T Lourdamma in a poor family from the fishing community.<ref name="onmanorama" /> He had his early education at the St. Thomas School Poonthura, Trivandrum, and completed his schooling at the Rajagiri School, Kalamassery, [[Ernakulam]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uniindia.com/ldf-candidate-antony-raju-begins-election-campaign/election/news/431156.html |title=LDF candidate Antony Raju begins election campaign |website=www.uniindia.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305043415/http://www.uniindia.com/ldf-candidate-antony-raju-begins-election-campaign/election/news/431156.html |archive-date=2017-03-05}}</ref> Raju was the unit president of Kerala Students' Congress (KSC), the students' wing of Kerala Congress, in St Xavier's College, Thumba where he completed his pre-degree, and latter in Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram. After graduating in Law from the Kerala Law Academy Law College, he enrolled as an advocate in 1982,<ref name="onmanorama">{{cite web|title=Antony Raju: From coast to cabinet |url=https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2021/05/20/antony-raju-from-coast-to-cabinet.html|website=onmanorama.com|date=2021-05-20|access-date=2023-05-27}}</ref> in [[Thiruvananthapuram]].

== Political career ==
[[File:Antony Raju.png|thumb|left|upright|Antony Raju (2023)]]

In 1996, Antony Raju was [[KC(J)]] candidate and contested for [[Left Democratic Front (Kerala)|LDF]]. It was Antony's first political victory in [[State Assembly elections in India|Assembly Election]] from [[Thiruvananthapuram|Trivandrum West]] Constituency. In the 2016 elections, he contested as Janadhipathya Kerala Congress candidate but lost to [[V. S. Sivakumar]]. But in the 2021 elections, he defeated Sivakumar by more than 8,000 votes. The coastal region has been Raju's support base. He contested elections for the first time from Shanghumugham division to the erstwhile district council. Shanghumugham is part of the Thiruvananthapuram Assembly constituency.

In his first attempt to reach the Assembly, he lost to [[M. M. Hassan|M M Hassan]] of the Congress in Thiruvananthapuram West in 1991. Raju exacted revenge the next time by defeating Hassan. However, he lost again in 2001, this time to [[M. V. Raghavan|M V Raghavan]].

He was not fielded in the next two Assembly polls due to controversies over his legal career. In 2016, Raju lost to V. S. Sivakumar, but defeated the same Congress leader in the 2021 elections.

Antony Raju served as the [[Department of Transport (Kerala)|Minister for Transport]] in the [[Second Vijayan ministry|Second Pinarayi Vijayan]] ministry for about 2.5 years, resigning in December 2023 to make way for [[K. B. Ganesh Kumar]] as part of an [[Left Democratic Front|LDF]] cabinet reshuffle.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bureau |first=The Hindu |date=2023-12-29 |title=Kadannappally Ramachandran, K.B. Ganesh Kumar sworn in as Ministers in Kerala Cabinet |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/kadannappally-ramachandran-kb-ganesh-kumar-sworn-in-as-ministers-in-kerala-cabinet/article67686768.ece |access-date=2026-01-04 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-05-21 |title=Vijayan's Kerala Cabinet 2.0: Full list of portfolios |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/kerala/vijayans-kerala-cabinet-2-0-full-list-of-portfolios-7323940/ |access-date=2026-01-04 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>

==Criminal case==
In April 1990, Australian national Andrew Salvatore Cervelli was arrested at [[Thiruvananthapuram International Airport]] after [[charas]] was allegedly recovered from his underwear. Raju, then a junior advocate, represented Cervelli in the trial court, which convicted him and sentenced him to 10 years' imprisonment. On appeal, the [[Kerala High Court]] acquitted Cervelli in February 1991, holding that the underwear produced as a material exhibit was too small to have been worn by him.<ref name="B&B">{{cite web |last1=Pratap |first1=Giti |title=Underwear evidence tampering case: Kerala Court convicts MLA Antony Raju |url=https://www.barandbench.com/news/underwear-evidence-tampering-case-kerala-court-convicts-mla-antony-raju |publisher=Bar and Bench |access-date=3 January 2026 |date=3 January 2026}}</ref><ref name="LLaw">{{cite web |last1=M. J. |first1=Anamika |title=MLA Antony Raju Found Guilty In Evidence Tampering Case By Kerala Court |url=https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/mla-antony-raju-guilty-evidence-tampering-case-kerala-court-516805 |publisher=Live Law |access-date=3 January 2026 |date=3 January 2026}}</ref>

In 1994, following information from the Australian National Central Bureau, a criminal case was registered against Raju and a court clerk on allegations of evidence tampering involving the material exhibit.<ref name="B&B"/> The magistrate court took cognizance of the case in 2006. In 2023, the Kerala High Court quashed the proceedings on technical grounds, while directing a [[trial de novo]]. In 2024, the [[Supreme Court of India]] set aside that order and restored the criminal proceedings before the trial court.<ref name="LLaw"/>

On 3 January 2026, the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court–I, [[Nedumangad]], convicted Raju of criminal conspiracy, causing disappearance of evidence, fabricating false evidence, criminal breach of trust, and "acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention".<ref name="B&B"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160507163442/http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Chandy-Faces-Heat-Over-Kasturirangan-Report/2014/02/28/article2083074.ece Chandy Faces Heat Over Kasturirangan Report]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raju, Antony}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:Malayali politicians]]
[[Category:Kerala MLAs 2021–2026]]
[[Category:Transport ministers of Kerala]]

Antony Raju - Revision history

XuHzRuDLW at 14:23, 7 January 2026