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Cow is a cow: Supreme Court rejects hearing plea on desi milk at Tirupati temple

Cow is a cow: Supreme Court rejects hearing plea on desi milk at Tirupati temple

India Today4 days ago
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition seeking directions to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the trust managing the famous Tirupati Venkateswara Balaji Temple, to ensure that only the milk of indigenous cows is used for the worship and bhog prasad of Lord Venkatesh.A bench of Justice MM Sundaresh and Justice N Kotiswar Singh, however, allowed the petitioner to withdraw the plea with liberty to approach the High Court instead.advertisementDuring the hearing, Justice Sundaresh observed, 'A cow is a cow. True love for God lies in serving fellow creatures and not in getting into these issues. There are much more important issues present in society.' The bench added that these remarks were being made 'with full respect'.
The petitioner's lawyer argued that even as per the Agamshastras, there is a clear distinction and that using indigenous cow milk is an essential tradition. The lawyer insisted that the rituals should adhere to the scriptures and that TTD itself had a proposal and order in this regard, which the petitioner was only asking to be implemented.In response, Justice Sundaresh remarked that such classifications were man-made and based on language, caste, community, or state, and not something ordained by God. 'God is equal for all humans. He is kind and fair to other creatures as well. You cannot say God wants only milk from a local cow. God must have something else, isn't it?' he said.The bench also questioned whether there was any legal order supporting the petitioner's claim. When the lawyer cited constitutional bench decisions and requested the court to at least seek TTD's response on the issue, Justice Sundaresh quipped, 'Will we now say that Tirupati laddus should also be indigenous?'Concluding the matter, the court noted it was not inclined to consider the plea. At the petitioner's request, it permitted withdrawal of the petition with the liberty to approach the appropriate High Court.- EndsTune InMust Watch
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