SC clears AP’s one-man panel; says no clash with SIT probe
Tirupati: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea by former MP Dr Subramanian Swamy opposing the Andhra Pradesh government’s move to set up a one-man panel to review administrative shortcomings linked to the Tirumala laddu ghee controversy.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the State’s exercise was administrative in nature and separate from the criminal probe earlier conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted under the Court’s directions. The judges pointed out that the SIT had already completed its inquiry and that the new committee’s role was confined to identifying accountability for procedural lapses highlighted during that investigation. With no overlap between the two processes, the Court said both could continue independently. Swamy had contended that initiating a fresh review after the SIT’s work would weaken the credibility of its findings into alleged irregularities in the ghee procurement system of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. Representing him, senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao argued that the move risked undermining the earlier probe and recalled that the Court had previously advised the Chief Minister to avoid public commentary while the matter was under scrutiny, adding that such remarks continued even after the investigation ended.
Appearing for the Centre, solicitor general Tushar Mehta told the Bench that the SIT’s final report had already been filed and that it separately flagged certain administrative deficiencies unrelated to criminal wrongdoing. He said the State panel was tasked only with examining those issues. Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, for the State government, maintained that the petition largely relied on media reports and appeared intended to stall corrective administrative action. The dispute traces back to 2024, when Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu alleged that ghee supplied for Tirumala laddus during the previous YSRCP administration had been contaminated with animal fat. During earlier hearings, the Supreme Court had ordered a SIT probe and noted that available lab tests did not initially indicate the presence of such material.
Subsequently, reports indicated that the SIT’s final findings, submitted in January, ruled out animal fat but identified adulteration with other unsafe substances along with irregular procurement practices that enabled substandard ghee supply.
Acting on a separate SIT note flagging administrative lapses, the State recently constituted a one-member panel headed by former AP Chief Secretary Dinesh Kumar to fix accountability and recommend further action-a move that leaders of the YSRCP have strongly protested over the past few days.
