Supreme Court refuses to move the Tirumala ghee adulteration trial out of Andhra Pradesh

The Supreme Court on Thursday, 5 November, dismissed a plea to shift the trial in the Tirumala laḍḍu ghee adulteration case out of Andhra Pradesh. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi heard the transfer petition.

It was filed by Maharashtra-based dairy businessman Machindra Shantaram Lanke, a prime accused, and his firm Malganga Milk and Agro Products. Senior advocate Siddharth Dave argued that public remarks by the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister made the atmosphere "politically charged".

He asked that the trial go to a neighbouring State where the matter was less emotive. Justice Bagchi noted that the probe was with the CBI, which was not affected by political commentary in the State.

"We have silenced them all with our order," the Chief Justice remarked. The bench said the petitioners could return to the court if a real problem arose.

The CBI-supervised Special Investigation Team filed its final charge sheet in a Nellore court on 23 January 2026. The Hindu reports that the CBI and ED probes point to a ₹250 crore fraud.

It involved the supply of 68 lakh kg of fake and synthetic ghee to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams between 2019 and 2024. The ED has attached ₹129.85 crore of assets of the dairy firms, the paper adds.