In the wake of the allegations regarding the use of substandard ingredients and animal fat in the preparation of ghee and laddus distributed as ‘prasadam’ at the revered Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), two petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored investigation into the charges.
Filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, the first PIL sought the appointment of a committee under the supervision of a retired judge of the Supreme Court to investigate the allegations.
The petition said the Tirumala temple, dedicated to Lord Venkateswara, held immense religious significance for millions of Hindus worldwide, with its customs and traditions rooted in the Agamashastras and protected under Article 25 of the Constitution.
Dr. Swamy contended in the plea that Lord Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple of Tirumala was considered one of the eight Swayambhu Kshetras of God Vishnu, where the presiding deity was believed to have manifested on its own.
The temple was revered by Alwars in Divya Prabandham and classified as a Divyadesam, one of the 108 Vishnu temples mentioned in these books. The benefits acquired by the pilgrimage to Venkatachala found mention in the Rig Veda and Asthadasa Puranas, and it was described as the great bestower of boons, he added.
Referring to the recent media reports, which revealed sensitive information regarding the quality of prasadam ingredients, the petitioner submitted that the controversy hurt the sentiments of millions of devotees. Noting that the sanctity of the temple’s traditions must be preserved, he sought a thorough inquiry to maintain the purity of the offerings.
He said certain disclosures were made by various media houses and individuals in the public domain regarding a very sensitive matter such as the content of the Prasadam distributed by the temple to its pilgrims, which ought to have been dealt within the confines of the temple by the TTD administrative machinery.
The subject matter required a deeper and detailed inquiry into the source, procurement and timing of the ghee provided to the department, more particularly having regard to the interests of maintaining the traditions and rituals followed in the temples.
The petitioner further called for stricter quality control measures for the procurement of ingredients used in preparing Prasadam, emphasising the need for internal checks and balances within the TTD administration to ensure compliance with temple standards.
The plea highlighted the significance of maintaining the temple’s spiritual and cultural integrity and requested that the ghee used in Prasadam be subject to rigorous scrutiny.
It said in a structure such as the TTD, which has been functioning from time immemorial, there ought to have been checks and balances internally to supervise, verify and check the quality, or lack of it, of those supplying various ingredients to the temple, which went into the making of the Prasadams.
It was also in the public domain that if and when the quality of the supplies to be undertaken by the successful tenderers in this regard fell below the prescribed standard under the terms of the tender and/or the prescriptions contained in the practices followed by the temple, the said material was forthwith returned to the tenderer with a direction that they complied with the prescribed parameters without any let or relaxation.
The second PIL was filed by the Managing Director of Sudarshan News, Suresh Chavhanke, seeking the formation of a committee consisting of either retired Supreme Court judges or Chief Justices of the High Courts to investigate the allegations of adulteration in the preparation of the famed Tirupati Laddu, a ‘prasadam’ offered at the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD).