The Travancore Devaswom Board on Thursday told the Kerala High Court that reports of ‘halal jaggery’ being used to prepare prasadam at the Lord Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala were baseless.
The TDB, which manages the temple, dismissed the allegations while replying to a petition that sought discontinuation of the alleged use of ‘halal jaggery’ in preparing ‘Aravana Payasam‘ and ‘appam‘, offered as prasadam at the temple.
The petitioner, SJR Kumar, who is the General Convener of the Sabarimala Karma Samithi, had sought directions to the TDB and the Commissionerate of Food Safety in Kerala “to stop forthwith the distribution of ‘Aravana‘ and ‘appam‘ made of impure halal jaggery and not to use it any further for the preparation of Nivedyam/Prasad at Sabarimala Temple".
‘Aravana‘, a payasam made out of jaggery and rice, and ‘appam‘, a sweet rice and jaggery-based fritter, are prasadam given to devotees at the Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala.
On Thursday, the TDB told the High Court that the jaggery was procured from a Maharashtra-based company and quality checks are conducted in Pampa, only after which the jaggery is accepted by temple authorities. The TDB added that the jaggery was bought in 2019 and 2020 but wasn’t put to use because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It said a subsequent quality check in September found the jaggery not suitable for human consumption and the lot was then auctioned for preparation of cattle feed.
In its reply, the TDB explained that one of the sacks bought in 2020 carried a halal certification. When enquired, the supplier said the certification was required for export purposes and that some sacks of jaggery meant for exports got mixed up with the load meant for the Sabarimala temple. The TDB said the sacks marked with halal certification were not used in preparing the temple prasadam.
The TDB further countered that the reports were targeted to reduce the sale of the prasadam.
The TDB and the Commissionerate of Food Safety have also told the High Court that the quality of jaggery used for making the religious offerings was being tested at the laboratory at Pampa. The court has given the petitioner time till Monday to file a counter.
Earlier on Thursday, the TDB had filed a complaint with the police in Sannidhanam over controversies surrounding the temple prasadam, including misinformation online that the offerings were supplied by a “Muslim company”.
The TDB has said it would initiate legal action under relevant sections of the IT Act against those found indulging in “disinformation” on social media forums.
The controversy has erupted right at the beginning of the annual two-month-long Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage to offer prayers at the temple.
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