The Supreme Court has directed the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the allegations of animal fat being used in the Prasadam (laddus) of Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. A bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Vishwanathan issued the order, mandating the formation of an independent committee for a thorough probe.
The SIT will include two officers each from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Andhra Pradesh Police, along with one representative from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The investigation will be supervised by the CBI Director. This order comes after the Andhra Pradesh Police had previously halted a similar investigation by the state SIT on October 1.
The hearing featured prominent legal representations: Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued for the Central Government, Mukul Rohatgi represented the State Government, Siddharth Luthra advocated for the Tirupati Temple, and Kapil Sibal appeared on behalf of former Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam (TTD) Chairman YV Subbareddy.
The bench clarified that the decision to form a new SIT should not be interpreted as questioning the integrity of the existing state SIT members. Instead, the move is aimed at addressing the concerns and sentiments of millions of devotees who hold deep faith in the temple’s sanctity.
The controversy originated when former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu alleged on September 18 that animal fat and fish oil were mixed into the ghee used for making the temple laddus during the tenure of the current Jagan Mohan Reddy government. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) also claimed that a laboratory report corroborated these allegations.