Liquor seizure case: Kerala HC declines to hear Anto Augustine’s interim bail plea

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday refused to hear an interim bail plea by Anto Augustine, Managing Director of Malayalam news channel Reporter Broadcasting Company (RBC), in the liquor seizure case registered under the Abkari Act.

Augustine had approached the High Court after the Sultan Bathery Judicial First Class Magistrate Court rejected his bail plea in the case. The court said it would consider the bail plea on Tuesday. 

The case was registered by the Excise Department after liquor exceeding the permissible limit was seized from Augustine's ancestral house in Wayanad.

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Augustine was arrested on Thursday after a Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed to probe alleged irregularities in a failed football event sponsored by RBC, found liquor bottles at his ancestral residence. The SIT subsequently referred the seizure to the Excise Department, which registered a case under the Abkari Act.

Augustine was remanded in judicial custody until September 30 and shifted to the Wayanad district jail in Mananthavady.

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During the proceedings before the lower court, Augustine claimed that he was unaware of the liquor bottles found at the house. The Excise Department opposed bail, arguing that a detailed investigation was required to establish the source of the seized liquor.

After the lower court rejected his bail plea, Augustine moved the Kerala High Court seeking interim bail. The High Court, however, denied interim bail, meaning Augustine will remain in judicial custody.

The Excise Department had also approached the lower court seeking Augustine's custody for further investigation, with the court directing that he be produced before it on Saturday.