A bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai, heading a bench comprising Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice NV Anjaria, said there was no irregularity if the SIT entrusted certain tasks to another officer under the overall supervision of the CBI Director.
File Photo: IANS
The Supreme Court on Friday put on hold an Andhra Pradesh High Court order that had faulted the CBI Director for allegedly breaching the apex judicial body’s directions by permitting an officer outside the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe charges of adulterated ghee being used in preparing the famed Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) laddu prasadam.
A bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai, heading a bench comprising Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice NV Anjaria, said there was no irregularity if the SIT entrusted certain tasks to another officer under the overall supervision of the CBI Director. “If the SIT wants to appoint a particular officer, what is wrong with that?” the CJI observed orally.
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The stay came on an appeal by the CBI Director challenging the High Court’s ruling. Counsel for the opposing party argued that the Supreme Court, while constituting the SIT, had specifically mandated its composition – two CBI officers, two state police officers, and one senior officer from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). He maintained that no officer beyond this list could be associated with the probe.
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Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, countered that the High Court’s observations cast unwarranted aspersions on the SIT and undermined the investigation. He clarified that the officer in question was “only a record keeper” and had been allowed to continue in that capacity by the Director without altering the SIT’s structure.
The High Court had objected to the role of J Venkat Rao, holding that he was never formally named as a state representative in the SIT as per the Supreme Court’s directions. It, therefore, concluded that Rao could neither act as a member nor conduct the investigation.
The High Court order had been prompted by a petition from Kuduru Chinnappanna, who complained that Rao, despite not being an SIT member, had repeatedly summoned him to appear at Tirupati. He alleged he was pressured into making “scripted false statements,” which were even recorded on video.
The SIT itself was set up by the Supreme Court in 2024 to probe allegations that animal fat was being mixed in ghee used for the sacred laddus offered as prasadam at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala, one of India’s most prominent pilgrimage sites.
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