Messi visit dispute: Court postpones ruling on Ant Augustin's preliminary bail plea to September 26

The Ernakulam High Court adjourned till Saturday (September 26, 2026) its order on the anticipatory bail plea filed by Reporter TV CEO Anto Augustine in a case related to the alleged multi-crore fraud behind the failed bid to bring the Lionel Messi-led Argentine football team to Kerala.

After concluding arguments from both sides on Thursday, the court reserved the order for Friday. However, the prosecution sought copies of the documents submitted by the defense along with the anticipatory bail application, after which the order was postponed.

Mr. Augustine moved the application in anticipation of an imminent arrest after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case conducted search operations at the headquarters of Reporter Broadcasting Private Limited and places associated with him and his brothers last week. Incidentally, he was arrested and remanded in judicial custody in the Abkari case registered by Excise after 67 liters of liquor over the limit was seized from his native house in Wayanad. He has since secured bail in the High Court.

However, the prosecution informed the court that the SIT has no plans to arrest him in the near future, apart from summoning him for questioning. However, the prosecution strongly opposed the return of the US$6,200 (in dollars) seized by the SIT during the search operations for which Mr. Augustine had gone to court, arguing that the source of the foreign currency was yet to be ascertained and that a forensic accounting had to be done.

Mr. Augustine had also approached the court for anticipatory bail in another case registered on his allegation that Chief Minister VD Satheesan entered into a second marriage while his existing marriage was subsisting.

The case was initially registered by the Thiruvananthapuram City Cyber Crime Police on a complaint filed by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) spokesperson Raju P. Nair. It has since been transferred to the Kochi City Police, given that Kalamassery was the alleged scene of Mr. Augustine’s controversial remarks. That request is likely to be presented to the court on September 26.

Published – 25 Sep 2026 12:29 IST