The Supreme Court mandated a special investigation team (SIT) on Friday to investigate claims that the former Andhra Pradesh government utilized substandard ghee containing animal fat in the preparation of Tirupati laddus. The SIT will operate under the supervision of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and will include two officers from the state police and one representative from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
The Supreme Court expressed that these allegations could deeply affect the sentiments of devotees worldwide. The court indicated that the SIT’s investigation would be overseen by the director of the CBI. A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan stated, “In order to assuage the feelings of crores of people, we find that an investigation by an independent SIT consisting of representatives of state police, CBI and FSSAI shall be done.”
The Supreme Court emphasized that this order was intended to comfort the millions of devotees of the revered Sri Venkateswara Temple. The justices clarified, “We clarify that our order should not be construed as a reflection on the independence and fairness of the members of the state SIT. We have constituted the committee only to assuage the feelings of crores of people having faith in the deity.”
However, the Supreme Court refrained from commenting on the actual merits of the allegations or counter-allegations. The justices asserted that they would not allow the court to be utilized as a “political battleground.”
The issue arose last month when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu alleged that a lab report indicated the presence of animal fat and fish oil in the ghee used for making the laddus during the tenure of the previous YSRCP government. In a prior hearing, the Supreme Court criticized the Chief Minister for making these claims publicly without definitive evidence, noting that there was no conclusive proof that animal fat was used. The court highlighted that the lab report suggested impurities were found only in ghee samples that were rejected.
