The Supreme Court on Monday came down heavily on the Andhra Pradesh government in the massive row over the Tirupati laddoos and prasadam, saying it at least expected “gods to be kept away from politics”.
The bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan observed that it was inappropriate of a “high constitutional functionary” to make a statement that can “affect public sentiment”. “You ordered an SIT. Till the outcome, what is the necessity to go to the press… When you hold constitutional office, it is expected that you would… We expect Gods to be kept away from polity,” Justice Gavai said.
The court was hearing a batch of petitions seeking a court-monitored investigation into the allegations by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu that the previous YSRCP regime used animal fat in the ghee to make the consecrated laddoos and prasadam at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirumala.
Later, after hearing the submissions, the SC in its order stated: “We are prima facie of the view that when investigation was under process, it was not appropriate on part of high constitutional functionary to make statement which can affect public sentiment.”
Setting the next date for the hearing on October 3, it said it will be appropriate for the solicitor general to assist the bench in deciding if the special investigation team (SIT) should continue or if the matter should be probed by an independent agency.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench that this was a matter of faith and, if contaminated ghee was used in preparation of the laddoos, it was unacceptable. “Someone will have to go into the question as to whether it (adulterated ghee) was used, if yes, who did it. This affects the sentiments of crores of people… in the beginning you should not have gone to the press,” the bench told the Andhra Pradesh government.
It also sought to know what was the proof that contaminated ghee was used in making the laddoos and asked the state government why it went to the press with the lab reports if it had already ordered a probe in the matter.
“[Report] is not at all clear. If you had already ordered investigation, what was the need to go to the press? Report came in July, statement came in September. This report prima facie indicates that this is not the material used in the preparation. Unless you were sure, how did you go to the public with that? What was the purpose of investigation?” Justice Viswanathan asked.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the state government, said the petitions before the SC are “not bonafide” and an attempt to attack the current regime by the previous government.
Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra said the ghee was procured from private vendors in the last few years. He argued that there were complaints about its quality and a show-cause notice was also issued to the contractor.
“Was the ghee not found in conformity, was it used for prasadam?” asked Justice Gavai, to which Luthra said: “We are investigating.”
“Then what was the need to go to the press immediately? You need to respect religious sentiments,” Justice Gavai said, while Justice Viswanathan asked: “Where is the proof that this was the ghee used in preparation of laddoos?”
Luthra took the court through all the important dates in the controversy. “How many contractors were supplying the material? Are the approved ghees mixed? Nowhere is it clear that it is used. It is tested, and report put in public domain, pending investigation,” Justice Viswanathan said.
To this, Luthra said once the product is found to not be appropriate, a second test is conducted. “July 6, fresh supply comes in and is sent to the lab. We get lab reports. These were not used,” he said.
“Did the lab take samples of the June 12 tanker? And the June 20 tanker?” asked Justice Gavai, seeking details on the timeline of the formation of the SIT and Naidu’s statement.
The three petitions listed were by senior BJP leader Dr Subramanian Swamy, Rajya Sabha MP and former TTD chairman YV Subba Reddy, as well as historian Dr Vikram Sampath and spiritual discourser Dushyanth Sridhar.
What is the controversy?
The world-famous Tirupati laddoos and prasadam have been at the centre of a massive controversy after the Andhra pradesh chief minister alleged that “beef tallow” was present in the ghee used to make them.
He accused his predecessor, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, of not even sparing Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple and using substandard ingredients to make the sweets, which are distributed to crores of devotees daily. There has been widespread outrage over the issue, with Hindus claiming that this has hurt their religious sentiments.
On September 27, the state government appointed a nine-member SIT to probe the alleged issue of adulteration in the form of animal fat in the laddoos and prasadam. “The government of Andhra Pradesh, in accordance with its commitment to protecting the sanctity of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), have (has) considered it necessary to constitute an sit for detailed and comprehensive investigation of the entire issue,” said chief secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad.
The TTD is the official custodian of the Tirupati temple. On September 22, Naidu announced at his Undavalli residence that an SIT will probe the alleged sacrilege of adulterating the laddoos. The SIT is headed by Guntur range Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sarvashresth Tripathi and other police officials.
However, YSRCP leaders said probing the allegations by an agency reporting to the CM is insufficient and called for a supreme court-monitored probe.
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