Supreme Court forms 5-member SIT to probe Tirupati laddu row
The Supreme Court on Friday appointed a five-member independent SIT to probe into alleged use of ghee adulterated with animal fat in preparing laddus offered as prasadam at the famous Tirumala Tirupati Temple in Andhra Pradesh in order to assuage the feelings of crores of devotees of Lord Venkateswara.
A Bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Viswanathan ordered that the SIT appointed by it will take over the probe into the matter from the SIT earlier appointed by the Andhra Pradesh Government.
It directed the CBI director to nominate two members to the SIT while the state government would nominate two officers from the Andhra Pradesh Police and the fifth member would be a senior officer of the Food Safety and Authority of India (FSSAI) nominated by its Chairman. The CBI Director would supervise the probe, it said. “The SIT shall work under the supervision of the Director of CBI,” it added.
The Bench, however, clarified that its order was in no way a reflection on the independence or fairness of the members of the state government-appointed SIT.
“In order to assuage the feelings of crores of people/devotees, we find that the investigation should be conducted by an independent SIT consisting of the representatives of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), representatives of the State Government and a representative of the FSSAI,” the top court said in its order.
As the petitioners and respondents – the Andhra Pradesh government and Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) – indulged in allegations and counter-allegations, the Bench said, “We clarify that we would not permit the Court to be used as a political battleground.”
Earlier, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the Centre did not have any objection to the state SIT as all its members had good reputations but suggested that a senior IPS officer could supervise the probe on behalf of the Centre.
However, the petitioners, represented by senior counsel Kapil Sibal and others, wanted an independent SIT to be set up by the top court.
On behalf of the state government and the TTD, senior counsel Mukuil Rohatgi and Siddharth Luthra didn’t object to the court’s order.
On September 30, the top court had sought Mehta’s assistance to decide if an SIT set up by the Andhra Pradesh Government should continue to work or the probe should be assigned to an independent agency.
The top court had rapped Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister of N Chandrababu Naidu for going public with allegations about use of adulterated ghee for preparing laddus at the Tirumala Tirupati Temple, saying it was inappropriate for him to make such a statement without waiting for outcome of a probe ordered by the state.
“At least, we expect the Gods to be kept away from politics,” the Bench had said, as it sought to know if there was a need to make a public statement when a probe into the matter had already been ordered and the report was awaited.
The petitioners included senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy; YV Subba Reddy – a Rajya Sabha MP and former Chairman of Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam which manages Tirupati Temple; historian Vikram Sampath and spiritual leader Dushyanth Sridhar; and Sudarshan News Editor-in-Chief Suresh Chavhanke.
Naidu had alleged that animal fat was used in preparing Tirupati laddus during the previous YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government in Andhra Pradesh, triggering a massive political row even as YSR Congress Party accused Naidu of indulging in “heinous allegations” for political gains.
