Anto Augustine, Managing Director of Reporter TV, was on Thursday (October 1, 2026) interrogated at the Kalamassery police station in connection with a case registered against him and two unidentified persons over the alleged defamatory remarks he made against Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan.

The Kalamassery police issued Mr. Augustine a fresh summons after he failed to appear before the investigation team on September 28, 2026. Mr. Augustine has also moved the High Court seeking to quash the first information report registered in the case.

The case pertains to an alleged revelation made by Mr. Augustine that two persons had approached him with what they claimed was a journalistic scoop on Mr. Satheesan’s alleged second marriage. He claimed that his channel did not telecast the story after his team failed to verify the allegation. The case was originally registered by the Cyber Crime Police, Thiruvananthapuram City, based on a complaint filed by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) spokesperson Raju P. Nair. It was subsequently transferred to the Kochi City Police, considering that the alleged place of occurrence of the controversial remarks made by Mr. Augustine was Kalamassery.

The Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court had dismissed his anticipatory bail plea in the case after the police informed the court that they had no immediate plans to arrest him. Mr. Augustine’s defence team, also insisted that any such move should be preceded by due notice.