The Thiruvananthapuram District and Sessions Court on Thursday deferred hearing into an appeal filed by former Minister Antony Raju in the 1990 evidence tampering case to September 9. He sought a suspension of the sentence imposed on him.

The appeal seeks to overturn the judgment delivered by Nedumangad Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-I which, on January 3, had sentenced Mr. Raju to three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh. The sessions court had earlier dismissed his petition to quash the conviction. The three-year prison sentence prevented him from contesting the recent Assembly elections.