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Visakhapatnam: The Supreme Court on Monday (February 23) ruled that the Andhra Pradesh government’s administrative enquiry into the Tirumala laddu adulteration scandal does not interfere with the completed criminal investigation.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that the administrative enquiry cannot be said to overlap the criminal proceedings, which have culminated in chargesheets.

The court was hearing a plea by Subramanian Swamy, who contended that a parallel investigation by the state would undercut the criminal proceedings. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had found administrative lapses during its criminal investigation and had duly intimated the state government.

After the SIT submitted a self-contained note recommending action against erring procurement committee members and senior Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) officers, the state government on February 20 formed a one-man committee to investigate the administrative failures.

Retired IAS officer Dinesh Kumar, who leads the committee, has been directed to submit a report within 45 days assessing omissions in the relaxation and enforcement of ghee tender conditions.

Forensic findings: Vegetable oil, not animal fat

The administrative probe follows the extensive findings of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)-led SIT, which filed its final chargesheet before the Anti-Corruption Bureau Court in Nellore on January 23.

The forensic analysis detailed in the chargesheet fundamentally alters the nature of the allegations regarding the desecration of the laddu. The SIT concluded that there was no evidence of animal fat, beef tallow, or lard in the samples, contrary to earlier political claims.

Instead, the investigation identified the contaminants as a sophisticated mixture of vegetable oils and laboratory chemicals designed to mimic the parameters of dairy ghee. The syndicate reportedly utilised a base of palm oil, palm kernel oil, and palmolein sourced from Kolkata.

To defeat the TTD’s quality control protocols, which relied on Reichert-Meissl (RM) values, the suppliers added Acetic Acid Esters to create a “false positive” for pure ghee in laboratory tests. The chargesheet notes that Beta Carotene was added to replicate the golden-yellow colour of cow ghee, while artificial flavouring was used to mimic the aroma.

The primary supplier, Bhole Baba Organic Dairy, is described in the report as a “virtual” manufacturing unit that procured zero litres of milk between 2019 and 2024 yet supplied 68 lakh kilograms of this synthetic product to the temple.

Fraud began under Telugu Desam Party (TDP) regime

Crucially, the supplementary chargesheet (No. 01/2025) establishes that the supply of adulterated ghee began prior to the tenure of the YSR Congress Party government.

The investigation identifies February 18, 2019 – during the tenure of the TDP administration led by N. Chandrababu Naidu – as the genesis of the adulteration timeline. On that date, the TTD floated a tender for 82,000 kilograms of ghee, which was secured by Harsh Fresh Dairy Products (later renamed Bhole Baba Organic Dairy Milk).

The SIT notes that the company won the bid at Rs 291 per kilogram, a price the investigation flagged as unviable for genuine ghee.

While the fraud originated in 2019, the chargesheet records that the ecosystem for the scam was significantly liberalised on February 29, 2020. Under the YSRCP administration, the TTD Board passed Resolution No. 371, which removed the mandatory requirement for dairies to procure four lakh litres of milk per day and reduced the turnover requirement to Rs 150 crore.

The SIT concluded that while the 2020 policy relaxation allowed shell companies to proliferate, the supply of synthetic ghee had already commenced under the previous government.

© The Wire