Tirupati Laddoo Ghee Row: Madras HC Quashes Suspension Of FSSAI Licence Of Tamil Nadu Dairy Firm

Chennai: Months after a row over alleged animal fat being found in the ghee used in the preparation of the laddoo prasadam at the famed Tirupati shrine made headlines, the Madras High Court on Friday set aside the suspension of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licence of a Tamil Nadu-based dairy company that supplied the ghee to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam.

A R Dairy Food Private Limited, based in Dindigul in south Tamil Nadu, had filed a petition challenging the suspension of its licence.

Allowing the petition, Justice Lakshminarayan remitted the matter to the licensing authority to consider whether the suspension should apply only to the ghee manufactured at the plant or to all dairy products of the company. The judge directed the FSSAI authorities to conduct fresh proceedings within four weeks.

According to the judge, until such reconsideration is complete, the suspension of the licence shall apply only to the manufacture of ghee. Additionally, he noted that a licence suspension could remain in force only for a maximum of six weeks and not indefinitely.

The court observed that if the FSSAI authorities intend to bar the company from manufacturing food products after confirming that the ghee supplied to Tirupati was adulterated, the appropriate course would be to cancel the licence by following due legal procedures.