Supreme Court defers hearing on Tirupati laddu row as Centre seeks time to reply

The Supreme Court has sought Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's assistance on whether the SIT constituted by the Andhra government should carry on the investigation or if the matter required a probe by a central agency. 

In Short

• Tushar Mehta given time till 10.30 am on Friday to file reply
• Mehta to assist court in deciding who should probe laddu row
• Court had questioned Chandrababu Naidu for making allegations in public

The Supreme Court on Thursday deferred the hearing on the matter as to which agency should investigate the allegations of adulterated ghee in making the prasadam laddus at Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati temple to Friday as Solicitor General sought more time to file a reply.

The court gave Mehta, representing the Centre, time till 10.30 am on Friday to file his reply.

In the last hearing, a bench led by Justice BR Gavai had sought SG’s assistance on whether the SIT constituted by the Andhra Pradesh government should carry on the investigation or if the matter required a probe by a central agency.

The court was hearing three petitions filed by senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, Rajya Sabha MP and former TTD chairman YV Subba Reddy, and the third one by historian Vikram Sampath and spiritual discourse speaker Dushyanth Sridhar.

During the last hearing, the top court questioned Chandrababu Naidu over going public with allegations that animal fat-laced adulterated ghee was used to prepare the famous laddus at Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati without conclusive proof.

"So what was the need to go to the press at all, when you yourself ordered an investigation", the top court asked, remarking "At least, the Gods should be kept away from politics".

The top court had said that individuals holding constitutional office are expected to keep religion separate from politics, noting that Chief Minister Naidu spoke about the matter even before a case was filed or a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted.

The court said that Naidu made the claim on September 18, even though the FIR was lodged on September 25 and an SIT team was constituted on September 26.

Chandrababu Naidu had earlier this month alleged that animal fat was used in the preparation of Tirupati laddus during the tenure of the previous YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government, sparking a major political controversy.

On September 19, a report by NDDB CALF, a private laboratory focused on testing animal feed and milk and milk products, revealed that the samples of the ghee used in making Tirupati laddus contained foreign fat, including palm oil, fish oil, beef tallow and lard (obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig).