The Delhi High Court said it will direct Sakshi newspaper, run by Jagati Publications, to remove reports linking Heritage Foods to the Tirupati laddu controversy. The Court warned that if the articles are not taken down within 24 hours, social media platforms may be ordered to block them.
The Delhi High Court on Thursday made it clear that it will direct the removal of a news report published by Sakshi newspaper, which is run by Jagati Publications, in a defamation case filed by Heritage Foods. The controversy relates to a report linking Heritage Foods, a dairy company founded by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, to the ongoing Tirupati laddu controversy.
The matter was heard by Justice Mini Pushkarna, who orally observed that the content in question would have to be taken down.
The Court said,
“I will direct them [Jagati Publications] to take it [news reports] down in 24 hours. If they don’t, you [Meta, Google and X] will do it,”
making it clear that even social media intermediaries could be directed to block access if the publication failed to comply.
The defamation suit has been filed by Heritage Foods against Jagati Publications, which runs Sakshi newspaper and Sakshi TV. Jagati Publications is chaired by YS Bharathi Reddy, wife of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
According to the suit, Sakshi’s Delhi edition carried a front-page article on February 14, 2026, alleging that Heritage Foods is owned by Chandrababu Naidu’s family and has business ties with Bhole Baba Dairy, a company accused of supplying adulterated ghee for the preparation of Tirupati laddu prasadam.
The article reportedly stated:
“The real conspiracy behind Chief Minister Chandrababu’s alleged smear campaign regarding the Tirumala Laddu Prasadam is gradually coming to light. It has been revealed that Chandrababu’s family shares a business relationship with Bhole Baba Dairy, the firm that the TDP coalition government has placed at the centre of this controversy.”
Heritage Foods has strongly denied these allegations, calling them completely false and misleading. The company clarified before the Court that it has business dealings with Bhole Baba Milk Food Industries, which is a different entity from Bhole Baba Organic Milk, the company accused in the Tirupati laddu scam. The suit emphasised that the two entities are entirely separate and that Sakshi’s report created confusion by linking Heritage Foods to the wrong company.
Senior Advocates Sandeep Sethi and Anurag Ahluwalia appeared on behalf of Heritage Foods and argued that the publication was malicious and intended to damage the company’s reputation. They submitted that such allegations could severely affect the company’s goodwill, especially as customers might wrongly believe that Heritage Foods was involved in supplying adulterated ghee to a sacred temple.
Arguing before the Court, Sethi said,
“This is intentional and mischievous and publication. They make no verification. They don’t get in touch with me. Even when the facts are false to your knowledge, you only want to sensationalise,”
stressing that no attempt was made to verify facts before publishing the report.
After hearing the submissions, the Delhi High Court indicated that it would pass an injunction order against the defendants, directing the removal of the impugned articles.
The Tirupati laddu controversy originally began in 2024 when Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu alleged that the sacred Tirupati laddus, which are offered as prasadam at the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, were prepared using substandard ghee allegedly containing animal fats such as beef tallow, lard and fish oil during the previous YSRCP government’s tenure.
However, last month, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed its final chargesheet in the case. The agency reportedly found no evidence of beef tallow or lard in the ghee used for preparing the laddu prasadam between 2019 and 2024.
At the same time, the CBI stated that there was corruption involved, as the adulteration did not involve animal fat but instead a mixture of palm oil and other chemicals. The investigation further alleged that certain employees of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) acted in collusion with private companies to defraud the temple administration.
With the Delhi High Court now set to pass an injunction order, the case has added a new legal dimension to the politically sensitive Tirupati laddu issue, raising important questions about media responsibility, defamation law, and the protection of corporate reputation in high-profile public controversies.
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