New Delhi, February 23 The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by Subramanian Swamy challenging the Andhra Pradesh government's decision to appoint a one-member committee to review the Special Investigation Team (SIT) report on the Tirumala laddus controversy.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi heard Swamy's plea, which also challenged statements made by the Andhra Pradesh chief minister regarding the controversy.
CJI Kant said, "Such an administrative inquiry cannot be considered as overlapping with the criminal proceedings that led to the chargesheet and supplementary chargesheet."
"There is no conflict of interest/overlap, and the scope of the investigation/inquiry, having been well-defined, shows that the petitioner's apprehension does not have a solid basis. Both processes should continue strictly in accordance with the law," the court said.
Swamy argued that the state government's move undermines the authority of the SIT, which was earlier constituted by the Supreme Court itself to probe irregularities surrounding the laddus distributed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).