Tirupati laddu case: Supreme Court rejects Subramanian Swamy's plea against State probe panel

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed former Member of Parliament (MP) Subramanian Swamy's plea challenging the Andhra Pradesh government’s decision to appoint a one‑member committee to review administrative lapses in the Tirumala laddu controversy..According to reports, the one-man panel was set up by the State to examine administrative lapses tied to the ghee adulteration allegations in the case, after a note was forwarded to the government by the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which handled the criminal investigation in the matter. .A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi today rejected Swamy's claim that the move undermined the authority of the SIT constituted earlier by the Supreme Court to probe irregularities surrounding the famed Tirumala laddus distributed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).The Court noted that the SIT investigation has already been completed and the committee constituted by the State government is only tasked with fixing responsibility for the detected lapses. "Such an administrative enquiry cannot be called as overlapping with the criminal proceedings which led to the chargesheet and supplementary chargesheet. There is no conflict of interest/overlapping and the scope of investigation/ enquiry having been well demarcated shows that the apprehension of petitioner does not have a solid foundation. Let both processes continue strictly in accordance with law," the Court said..Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra represented the Andhra Pradesh government. During the hearing, he argued that Swamy's plea was aimed at delaying administrative action. "This plea by the petitioner is completely Mala fide. They just want to delay the administrative action ... newspaper reports are being relied on," the senior counsel said..The laddu controversy erupted in 2024 when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu alleged that animal fat was being used to make Tirupati laddus under the previous Congress government. Initially, the State government constituted an SIT to probe the matter. The Supreme Court subsequently substituted it with an SIT to be composed of two officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation, two officers of the State Government, and one officer of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). .Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.