Today, On 26th September, In the Tirupati Laddoo controversy, the Supreme Court stayed the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s ruling against the CBI. The Court remarked, “If the SIT wants to appoint a special officer, what’s wrong with that?” granting relief.
In a significant development for the CBI concerning the Tirumala Tirupati laddoo controversy, the Supreme Court on Friday issued a stay on the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s ruling.
The high court had determined that the director of the premier investigative agency had acted in violation of the Supreme Court’s directives by permitting an officer not officially part of the special investigation team (SIT) to probe the matter.
A bench led by Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran, remarked,
“If the SIT wants to appoint a special officer, what’s wrong with that?”
The high court had criticized the CBI director for allowing J Venkat Rao to investigate allegations about the use of “adulterated ghee” in the preparation of prasadam (religious offerings) at Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams in Andhra Pradesh, asserting this was contrary to the Supreme Court’s 2024 directives.
The high court specified that it had mandated the establishment of an independent five-member SIT, which was to include two CBI officers nominated by the director, two officers from the Andhra Pradesh Police designated by the state, and one senior representative from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
It ruled that Venkat Rao, not being explicitly named as one of the state’s representatives in the SIT, could not assume investigative authority in this case.
This ruling followed a petition from Kaduru Chinnappanna, who claimed to have faced harassment from Mr. Rao. He alleged that he was repeatedly summoned and coerced into attending the SIT office in Tirupati, where he was pressured to provide “scripted false statements.”
Representing the CBI director, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta contended that the high court was mistaken in asserting that an officer involved in the investigation had not been formally designated as a member of the SIT as per the Supreme Court’s 2024 directives.
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In September of the previous year, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had alleged that animal fat was used in the preparation of Tirupati laddus during the previous regime led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, a claim that the opposition party vehemently denied.
Following the Supreme Court’s orders, the CBI established a five-member SIT in November of last year to investigate the allegations.
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