New Delhi, Sep 30 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for making controversial public statements about the suspected use of adulterated ghee in preparation of Tirupati Temple Ladoos even as an investigation was underway into the alleged lapses.







A Bench comprising Justice B R Gavai and Justice K V Viswanathan, said, “We are prima facie of the view that when investigation was under process, it was not appropriate on part of high constitutional functionary to make statement which could affect public sentiments without any basis.”







“In that view of the matter, it would be appropriate that the Solicitor General assists us in deciding as to whether the SIT already appointed should continue... or should the probe be conducted by an independent agency,” the court said.







After hearing lengthy arguments on the batch of petitions seeking independent or court-monitored investigation into allegations of adulteration in Ladoos during the tenure of the previous YSRCP regime, posted the matter to be heard on October 3.







Justice Gavai asked the Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta to assist the Court on who should conduct this investigation. “We don't go only on newspaper reports. We have asked them to take a stand on their officer's statement whether adulterated ghee was used or not,” the court said.







The Court said that this matter affects sentiments of people living in the entire world... The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh had come in public making a statement that animal fat was being used to make Tirupati Ladoos during the previous regime. However, some press reports also show that CEO of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) had stated that such adulterated ghee was never used, the bench noted.











Earlier in the day, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan mentioned before the bench led by the CJI that other matters related to the Tirupathi Ladoos are listed before Court 3, and his petition is not listed. He requested the CJI to tag his case along with the other related matters coming up before the Court 3 today. The CJI accepted his plea and it was tagged with other matters.







The other petitions listed before the Court were filed by senior BJP leader Dr Subramanian Swamy, Rajya Sabha MP and ex-TTD chairman YV Subba Reddy. A joint plea has also been filed by historian Dr. Vikram Sampath and spiritual discourser Dushyanth Sridhar.







Counsel for YV Subba Reddy sought adjournment on behalf of Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal saying he cannot appear before the court but Justice Gavai said that it would hear other related petitions.







As SG said that the matter could be heard at 1 pm, Justice Gavai light-heartedly remarked, “Hopefully we don't have to eat Ladoos in lunch.”







The controversy arose out of a lab report made public by Andhra Pradesh CM Naidu which indicated that samples of ghee supplied to Tirupati temple for preparation of Ladoos during the term of the previous YSRCP government were found to contain foreign fats, including possible beef fat and fish oil.







About five other petitions have been filed in the Apex Court seeking a Court-monitored probe into the allegations and more accountability in Hindu temples managed by government bodies.







One petition has been filed by Suresh Khanderao Chavhanke, Editor of Sudarshan News TV, seeking an investigation by a committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge or a retired High Court Chief Justice into the matter.







He argued that the use of non-vegetarian ingredients in the prasadam violated the fundamental rights of devotees under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, which guarantee freedom of religion and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs in matters of religion.







A second petition has been filed by Surjit Singh Yadav, President of Hindu Sena, who has sought an investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the alleged use of adulterated ghee in the laddus.







The third petition has been filed by senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy seeking investigation by a Court-monitored committee. Besides praying for the appointment of a Committee. Swamy has sought directions for a detailed report from the authorities on the forensics of the ghee sample used by the concerned lab.







The fourth petition is by ex-TTD Chairman YV Subba Reddy seeking independent investigation by a Court-monitored Committee, or by a retired judge along with domain experts, into the allegations of adulteration.







The petition impleaded Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu and stated that his remarks on the use of animal fat in the Tirumala Ladoo prasadam has disturbed sentiments of large number of devotees of Lord Venkateswara.







The fifth petition is filed by historian Dr. Vikram Sampath and spiritual discourser Dushyanth Sridhar, "to divest government/bureaucratic hold over temples". The duo seeks the establishment of accountability in Hindu temples managed by government bodies.







The petitions filed by Subramanian Swamy, YV Subba Reddy and Vikram Sampath were listed for Monday.







Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao, appearing for Swamy, said, “I am here as a devotee. These are matters of concern. A statement made in the public domain...makes a factual assertion that ingredients of prasad were contaminated.”







Rao said, “After such allegations, It has repercussions for harmony. The TTD official himself has said that the adulterated ghee was never used.”



Counsel for Sampath said, “As a devotee, I am not allowed to consume.”



Another counsel mentioned a petition filed by Suresh Khanderao Chavhanke, Editor of Sudarshan News TV (listed after urgent mentioning).



Counsel for Chavhanke said, “ I am a devotee...my sentiment is hurt. I am seeking protection from the sentiment. I seek the constitution of a committee headed by a retired judge.”



Rohatgi appearing (for Andhra Pradesh) said, “These are not bonafide petitions. Attempt to attack current government by the previous regime. TTD issued a show cause notice to their man on what kind of supplies were made.”.



The Court directed the matter to be kept on October 3 at 3.30 pm.



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