SC Refuses to Entertain Plea Challenging Committee's Review of SIT Report on Tirumala Laddu Row
Swamy argued that the state government's move undermines the authority of the SIT, which was constituted earlier by the Supreme Court itself to probe irregularities surrounding the laddus distributed by the TTD
Tirupati: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by former MP Subramanian Swamy challenging the appointment of a one-man commission by the Andhra Pradesh government to examine administrative lapses linked to the Tirumala laddu ghee row.
A bench of chief justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi held that the state’s administrative inquiry does not overlap with the criminal investigation carried out earlier by an SIT constituted by the apex court.
The judges observed that the SIT probe has been completed and that the state-appointed panel is only tasked with fixing responsibility for lapses identified during that investigation.
The court said there was no conflict or duplication between the two processes and allowed both to proceed in accordance with law.
Swamy had contended that the state’s parallel exercise would undermine the SIT probe into irregularities in the ghee procurement system of the TTD. Appearing for him, senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao argued that forming a committee after the SIT probe would dilute its authority. He recalled that the SC had earlier cautioned the CM against public comments while the matter was under investigation.
He submitted that such statements continued even after completion of the probe.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta told the court that the SIT had filed its final report and, as per procedure, had informed the state government about administrative lapses not directly linked to criminal offences. He said the state’s one-man committee was constituted only to examine those lapses.
Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the state government, argued that Swamy’s plea was intended to delay administrative action and relied largely on media reports.
The controversy dates back to 2024, when chief minister Chandrababu Naidu alleged that ghee used for laddus during the previous YSRC term was adulterated with animal fat. The Supreme Court later ordered an SIT probe and had at that stage remarked that available lab findings did not prima facie indicate the presence of animal fat.
According to reports, the SIT submitted its final report in January, ruling out animal fat but pointing to procurement irregularities that led to the supply of spurious ghee.
Based on the SIT’s self-contained note flagging administrative lapses, the state government recently appointed a one-member panel headed by retired IAS officer Dinesh Kumar to identify responsibility and recommend action.