Supreme Court Dismisses PIL For Checks On Prasad, Food Items Distributed In Religious Places; Asks Litigant To Approach FSSAI

The Supreme Court on Friday (November 29) dismissed a public interest litigation seeking quality regulation of prasad/food items distributed at religious places across the country.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan passed the order, upon hearing Senior Advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu (for petitioner) who contended that there should be pan-India regulations to address the issue, which can be enforced.

The bench however conveyed that there are legal provisions which can be invoked to take action. When Naidu insisted that there are just Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) guidelines which are not enforceable, the bench suggested that the petitioner make a representation to the FSSAI.

Dismissing the PIL, Justice Gavai, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark during his Constitution Day address that the Executive is functioning within its limits, said that the judiciary should also be doing it

What did the petition say?

Briefly put, the PIL was filed by one Preeti Harihara Mahapatra, contending that apart from the religious aspect, purity of prasad is needed to be maintained even for the purpose of hygiene and health.

"There are numerous Temples, Shrines and religious place in this Country, however, there is no effective system to check the adulteration in Prasad or food served at such religious places."

It was claimed that during certain peak periods, the quality of food items distributed at religious places can drop even lower due to increase in demand and shortage of supply. The petitioner cited specific instances, such as -

- In 2023, during month long Shrawani Mela at Baba Baidyanath Temple, Deoghar, Jharkhand, 65 samples of Khoya, Peda, skimmed milk powder, oil and other items were found adulterated;

- 2,820 kg of substandard ghee worth ₹8 lakh was seized during preparation of the 'Mohanthal Prasad' at Shree Arasuri Ambaji Mata Devasthan Trust (SAAMDT), the governing body of the Ambaji temple, Sabarkantha, Gujarat;

- The Executive Officer, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam announced in a press conference that lab tests revealed animal fat, including pig fat (lard), and other impurities in ghee supplied to TTD.

Relying on FSSAI Annual Report (2020-21), the petitioner highlighted that 28.56% of food samples assessed by FSSAI were found to be adulterated or misbranded. The highest food adulteration was found in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu.

"The report clearly indicates a consistent rise in food adulteration in the country. The proportion of the adulterated food or misbranded food sold in India has almost raised double in the last 8 years. In the year 2012-13, 15% (percent) of the food samples tested were found non-confirming to the prescribed standards."

The petitioner further relied on the decision in Swami Achyutanand Tirth & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors., where the Supreme Court dealt with adulteration of milk products and issued certain directions. It was claimed that the judgment was not being complied in letter and spirit.

Besides the above, it was mentioned that FSSAI has formulated an initiative named BHOG (Blissful Hygienic Offering to God) that aims to improve the hygiene and sanitation standards at places of worship. However, the BHOG guidelines are not mandatory and are voluntary in nature. Thus, they are not being strictly followed by Temple Trusts.

In the context of the faith of certain management personnel at Hindu temples, the petitioner added,

"There is no effective mechanism to ensure that the persons in the management of the Hindu temples are practicing Hindus and it transpires later that a few of the temple employees or management personnel were persons belonging to other faiths."

Alleging "hostile occupation" of temple lands in Tamil Nadu, the plea also stated, "the state governments of Tamil Nadu permitted and enabled the encroachments and hostile occupations of the temple lands for the sake of votes."

Prayers sought

- Direction to the Respondents to take appropriate steps to check and maintain the purity of Prasad/Prasadam at the Temples and Religious Places;

- Direction to the Respondents to ensure that Prasadam or Bhog offerings are tested before being offered at temples and religious places of worship in all states;

- Direction to the Respondents to ensure strict regime for prasad, langar, etc. in Temples, Gurudwaras, shrines, community kitchens or any religious gatherings having religion specific guidelines in preparation of food and proprietary items;

- Direction to FSSAI to formulate strict rules and enforce for random sampling and testing of the food items to check the quality of ingredients to make the prasad and/ or other religious items.

Appearance: Senior Advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu; AoR Shantanu Kumar

Case Title: PREETI HARIHARA MAHAPATRA Versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS., W.P.(C) No. 780/2024