Wayanad: Reporter Broadcasting Company Managing Director Anto Augustine was sent to the custody of the Excise Special Investigation Team (SIT) for one day by the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Sulthan Bathery, on Saturday, in connection with the alleged possession of liquor seized from a house in Wayanad, reportedly owned by him.

The Excise SIT can question Augustine from Saturday noon to Sunday noon and produce him back before the Magistrate. The SIT had sought four days of custody, citing the need to conduct detailed evidence collection, inspect the property, establish the source of the liquor and identify those allegedly involved in the manufacture of illicit liquor seized from the property. The court, however, granted custody for 24 hours.

Northern Zone Excise Joint Commissioner Y Shibu said investigators had identified several procedures to be completed during the custody period, including taking Augustine to the property, tracing the source of the liquor and recovering equipment allegedly used for its manufacture.

“We had requested four days of custody because there is extensive evidence to be collected. We need to take him to the location, determine the source of the illicit liquor, uncover how it was manufactured, trace who provided assistance and recover the implements used,” Shibu said.

He added that the department could seek an extension if key procedures remained incomplete.

The case relates to the seizure of around 65 litres of liquor, including suspected spurious liquor, foreign-made foreign liquor (FMFL) and wine, from the house in Muttil South village. The search was conducted as part of a police SIT investigation into alleged financial irregularities linked to the proposed visit of Lionel Messi and the Argentina national football team to Kerala. Augustine’s company was associated with the event as the key sponsor.

The Excise Department subsequently registered a case against Augustine under Sections 55(a), 55(i) and 58 of the Kerala Abkari Act.

Augustine was arrested on Thursday after being taken into custody from the Reporter TV office in Kalamassery, Kochi, and was later remanded to judicial custody until September 30. His bail plea was rejected by the magistrate court on Friday. The Kerala High Court also declined to grant him interim bail and deferred detailed arguments on his bail plea to Tuesday.

During the High Court proceedings, Augustine’s defence argued that he neither owns nor possesses the property from which the liquor was seized. The defence said the building, No. 10/603, “Moongananiyil Veedu”, had been mortgaged to the State Bank of India and sold through a public auction under the SARFAESI Act in 2022. It was purchased by Lilly Jose for ₹2.001 crore.

The defence also submitted that Augustine lives in Ernakulam with his wife and three minor children and was not present at the property during the raid. It argued that his absence from the premises weakened the prosecution’s claim of conscious possession.