The Supreme Court on Monday rebuked Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for publicly alleging that adulterated ghee was used to prepare laddoos at the Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati, reported Live Law.
On September 18, Naidu claimed that substandard ingredients and animal fat were used to make the prasadam while the YSR Congress Party was in power in the state.
The court questioned the propriety of Naidu’s claims, which were made despite the matter being under investigation by the temple authorities. A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan was hearing a batch of petitions requesting a court-monitored investigation into the allegations.
The bench orally observed that according to the lab reports it had seen, the ghee samples tested for contamination came from rejected batches that were not used to make laddoos.
“There are some disclaimers in the lab report,” Viswanathan said during the hearing. “It is not clear and it is prima facie indicating that it was rejected ghee, which was subjected to test. If you [Andhra Pradesh government] yourself have ordered the investigation, what was the need to go to press.”
On September 20, AR Dairy Food Private Limited, a Tamil Nadu-based company, denied that it had supplied adulterated ghee to the temple.
“The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh had gone in public making a statement that the animal fat was being used to make Tirupati laddoos under the previous regime,” the court observed. “This report prima facie indicates that this is not the material which was used in the preparation of the laddoos.”
“When you [Naidu] hold a constitutional office…We expect the gods to be kept away from the politics,” the court added. “It was not appropriate for the high constitutional authority to make a statement which can affect the sentiments of crores of people.”
The court remarked that the state government had previously acknowledged the need for an investigation into its claims, after which the case was assigned to a Special Investigation Team of the state police.
It asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to consult the Centre about the need for a central agency to take over the investigation.
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