No relief for Anto Augustin as High Court denies bail

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Friday declined to grant interim bail to Reporter Channel Managing Editor Anto Augustin, who was arrested in an abkari case. The court adjourned further consideration of his bail plea to Tuesday. The Director General of Prosecution, appearing for the government, told the court that the investigation was at a preliminary stage and that Anto should not be granted bail at this stage. The prosecution also pointed out that Anto was already an accused in several cases.

The Bathery court is scheduled to consider the prosecution's custody application against Anto on Monday. The High Court took this into consideration while declining to grant him interim bail.

Earlier on Friday morning, the Sultan Bathery Judicial First Class Magistrate Court had rejected Anto Augustin's bail plea. He had been remanded in judicial custody for 14 days and will remain at the Mananthavady District Jail.

A special investigation team searching Anto Augustin's ancestral house in Wayanad in connection with the Messi controversy recovered 69.589 litres of liquor. The liquor was handed over to the Excise Department, which subsequently registered a case and arrested Augustin.
The defence argued before the High Court that the house did not belong to Anto. The prosecution, however, opposed bail, producing documents including 2025 tax records to contend that the house was registered in his name.
The seized liquor included 43 bottles of foreign-made liquor and illicit liquor. The prosecution told the court that a person is permitted to keep only three litres of liquor at home under Indian law.

Anto Augustin was arrested by the Excise Department in Kochi on Thursday morning and taken to the Assistant Excise Commissioner's office in Meenangadi. He was questioned for five hours under the leadership of Northern Zone Joint Excise Commissioner V. Biju before being produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody.