Wayanad, 18 September (H.S.): A court in Sulthan Bathery has denied bail to Reporter TV owner Anto Augustine in an excise case involving the alleged illegal storage of a large quantity of liquor at his residence in Wayanad.

Following the rejection of his bail petition, Augustine will remain lodged in the Mananthavady District Jail. The Excise Department is expected to seek his custody for detailed questioning to ascertain the source of the liquor and the circumstances under which it was allegedly stored at the house.

During arguments on the bail application, Augustine claimed that the case was the result of a conspiracy against him. He also cited an ongoing dispute over the ownership of the house from where the liquor was seized.

Augustine contended that the property was not registered in his name and was the subject of legal proceedings. He argued that the property was under consideration for attachment by a court and, therefore, he could not be held responsible for articles recovered from the premises.

The prosecution, however, disputed his contention. It informed the court that the house continued to remain in Augustine's name, according to the latest property tax payment records.

The case was registered after Excise officials conducted a raid at the house and allegedly recovered 67 litres of liquor stored in 138 bottles without authorisation. The Excise Department also told the court that 12.75 litres of the seized substance was suspected to be illicit liquor.

Augustine challenged this claim, maintaining that the substance was homemade wine and not illicit liquor. In his bail petition, he alleged that Excise officials had described it as illicit liquor without conducting a scientific examination.

The prosecution maintained that further investigation and questioning were necessary to establish the origin of the seized liquor and determine whether others were involved in its procurement, preparation or storage.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman