Tirupati Laddu row: SC to hear pleas on adulteration allegations on Monday

The Supreme Court will hear petitions on Monday regarding allegations of animal fat, including beef fat and fish oil, being used in the preparation of the famed Tirupati laddus. The controversy centers on claims made by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who revealed a lab report suggesting that ghee used in the laddus during the previous YSRCP government was adulterated with foreign fats.

The matter has been listed before a bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan. Petitions from BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and former Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) chairman YV Subba Reddy, along with three other petitioners, are seeking a court-monitored investigation into the alleged use of adulterated ghee. The petitions also call for greater accountability in the management of Hindu temples overseen by government bodies.

The controversy erupted after the lab report was made public, leading to demands for a thorough probe into the ingredients used in the sacred laddus, which are offered as Prasadam at the Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati. The Supreme Court is expected to address these petitions and potentially determine the course of the investigation.