Kerala Court Denies Bail To Reporter TV's Anto Augustine Booked For Illegal Possession Of Alcohol
A court in Keralam on Friday (September 18) has denied bail to Anto Augustine, the Managing Director of Reporter TV, who is booked under the Akbari Act for illegal possession of alcohol.
Smt. Adheena Biju, Judicial First Class Magistrate 1, Sulthan Bathery passed the order.
Augustine is arrayed as the accused in a crime registered by the Excise Station, Kalpetta for the offences under Sections 55(a), 55(i) [For illegal import, etc.] and 58 [For possession of illicit liquor] of the Kerala Abkari Act. He was arrested at 5:00 am yesterday (September 17).
It is alleged that he was found to be in possession of 43.850 litres of Foreign Made Foreign Liquor, 1.224 litres of Foreign Made Foreign Wine, 6.250 litres of KSBC wine, 750 ml of Indian Made Foreign Liquor stated to have been purchased from the canteen, and 12.750 litres of liquid containing alcohol. As per law, the maximum
The magistrate noted that the formalities of arrest, including communication of grounds of arrest was communicated to Augustine as well as his wife and his relative.
"On an overall consideration of the materials presently available, this Court finds that the investigation is only at its nascent stage and having regard to the nature and quantity of the alleged recovery, the stage of investigation, the criminal antecedents attributed to the petitioner and the other circumstances emerging from the case records, this Court is not satisfied that the petitioner is entitled to the discretionary relief of bail at this stage and hence this court is not inclined to allow this petition," the magistrate observed.
Augustine is also arrayed as the 1st accused along with Reporter Broadcasting Pvt. Ltd. in a crime registered by the Kalamassery Police Station for alleged fraud in the controversy surrounding Lionel Messi's visit to Kerala. He is accused of Sections 318 [Cheating] and 61 [Criminal conspiracy].
Case No: CMP No. 01/2026 in Kalpetta Excise Range Crime No. 154/2026
Case Title: Anto Augstine v. State of Kerala
Counsel for the petitioner: A.J. Antony
Counsel for the respondent: Abdul Hassan T- APP Gr.II