Kerala HC grants bail to Reporter TV MD Anto Augustine in liquor case

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday granted bail to Anto Augustine, managing director of private Malayalam news channel Reporter Broadcasting Company (RBC), in an Abkari case related to the seizure of liquor bottles allegedly beyond the permissible limit from his ancestral house in Wayanad.

Justice Kauser Edappagath granted the relief, noting that Augustine had not been accused in any other similar case involving Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL), either currently or in the past.

The court said it had been granting bail in IMFL cases unless an accused had more than one such case or past antecedents of similar offences.

Since the case against Augustine was the first of its kind, the court held that he could be granted bail.

The court also rejected the contention of Director General of Prosecution T Asaf Ali that Augustine was a man of "money and might", observing that it did not matter for deciding the bail plea.

The DGP had also submitted that Augustine was not answering police queries and was not cooperating with the investigation.

The High Court observed that an accused was not required to answer every query put by the police and said appropriate conditions could be imposed requiring Augustine to appear before the investigating officer and cooperate with the probe.

The court also noted that Augustine had already been taken into police custody for a day and that the liquor had been recovered.

Augustine was arrested on September 17 after a Special Investigation Team constituted to probe alleged irregularities in a failed football event sponsored by RBC found liquor bottles at his ancestral house.

The SIT subsequently handed over the seized liquor to the Excise Department, which registered the Abkari case and arrested Augustine.

A vigilance court had dismissed Augustine's bail plea on Friday.