Kerala High Court Grants Bail to Reporter TV MD Anto Augustine in Wayanad Excise Case

• by Akanksha Mishra
• 2026-09-23 12:07:00

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, granted regular bail to Anto Augustine, Managing Director of Reporter Broadcasting Company (Reporter TV), in connection with an excise case registered following the recovery of foreign liquor bottles exceeding permissible statutory limits from his ancestral residence in Wayanad. Delivering the verdict, Justice Kauser Edappagath observed that the accused holds no prior criminal background or concurrent offenses related to the illicit possession or trafficking of foreign liquor. The single-judge bench underlined established judicial precedent, pointing out that bail is routinely granted in such excise violations unless the applicant carries a persistent history of criminal infractions or is implicated across multiple ongoing penal cases.

Prosecution Claims of Influence Dismissed: 'Accused Not Obligated to Answer Every Question'

During the high-stakes bail proceedings, Director General of Prosecutions (DGP) T. Asaf Ali vigorously opposed Augustine's plea, arguing that the media executive commands considerable "wealth and power" and had demonstrated evasive conduct without cooperating fully with investigating officers. Addressing the prosecution's objections, the High Court observed that an accused person is under no constitutional or statutory obligation to answer every single query posed by law enforcement interrogators, noting that procedural cooperation can be appropriately secured by imposing strict bail covenants rather than perpetuating custodial detention.

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The controversial excise action emerged unexpectedly on September 17, when a Special Investigation Team (SIT)—initially executing search procedures regarding financial and administrative irregularities linked to a regional football tournament—stumbled upon stored liquor bottles at his Wayanad property and notified the Excise Department. State excise officials subsequently arrested Augustine, prompting an immediate legal battle after the local magistrate court dismissed his initial bail application. Securing an urgent intervention before the High Court, defense counsel successfully established the absence of institutional risk or flight danger, enabling the private television channel chief to secure conditional freedom pending further investigation.

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