The committee will have two officers each from the CBI and Andhra Pradesh police, and a Food Safety Standards Authority of India official. The team will conduct the investigation under the direct supervision of the CBI director.
Published Oct 04, 2024 | 1:08 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 04, 2024 | 11:36 PM
Tirumala laddu row Supreme Court orders setting up of 5-member probe panel
The Supreme Court, on Friday, 4 October, ordered the constitution of a five-member independent probe committee to investigate whether adulterated ghee was used in the making of Tirumala laddus.
The apex court’s order has effectively superseded the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Andhra Pradesh government.
A division bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan, while disposing of writ petitions filed by former MP Subrahmanian Swamy, former TTD chairman YV Subba Reddy, and others, said that the committee should conduct the inquiry under the supervision of the CBI director.
The committee will have two officers each the CBI and Andhra Pradesh police, and a Food Safety Standards Authority of India official.
The court said that it was constituting an independent panel to investigate the charge of adulteration in the making of laddu at the Tirumala temple, keeping in view the sentiments of the devotees. “The committee is being formed to assuage the feelings of crores of people,” the bench said.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu kicked off a controversy on 18 September, saying adulterated ghee, including animal fat, was used for making Tirumala’s laddu prasadam during the previous YSRCP regime.
The Supreme Court-ordered team would work under the direct supervision of the CBI director. The court made it clear that it had no doubts about the fairness or independence of the SIT formed by the state government to probe the controversy but was ordering an independent panel to soothe the feelings of the devotees of Lord Venkateswara.
The petitioners sought the appointment of an independent inquiry panel to probe the controversy that surrounds the making of Tirumala laddus to ferret out the truth — whether the ghee used for making laddus had animal fat in it or not.
Earlier, the Supreme Court took objection to Naidu’s allegation that Tirumala laddus were made with ghee that had animal fat content. The apex court wondered how he could make a statement without any inquiry.
The court had said it saw no conclusive proof to substantiate the allegation that ghee which had animal fat in it was used in the making of laddus and asked whether Naidu had any evidence. It then asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to take the views of the Centre on whether an independent probe should be ordered, or the SIT formed by the state would suffice.
When the court resumed hearing on Friday, The solicitor general said that the probe by the SIT could be allowed under the supervision of a central government officer to inspire confidence. He said that if there was truth in the allegation, then it was unacceptable.
The state government, represented by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, contended that there was no need to supersede the SIT formed by the government. The advocate said that he had no objection to including any officer in the SIT. He said that there was proof that lard (pig fat) was used in the making of the laddu prasadam.
Counsel for Subba Reddy, Kapil Sibal, expressed doubt over whether there would be an impartial investigation by the SIT since it was constituted by the government which made the allegation that adulterated ghee was used.
He wanted an independent panel to probe the allegation under the supervision of the court. Had Naidu not made the statement, then it was a different matter, he said.
Sibal argued that no animal fat was mixed with ghee and that the lab reports indicated the presence of only vegetable oils and vegetable fat. He said no adulteration of ghee took place at any stage.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
