Kerala HC seeks explanation from Food Safety Department in Sabarimala Halal Jaggery row

Thiruvananthapuram, November 22: In the latest development in the Sabarimala Halal Jaggery Row, Kerala High Court has sought an explanation from the state Food Safety Department Commissioner in the recent controversy over halal jaggery being used at Sabarimala to prepare prasadam and nivedyam.

 

 

A Division Bench comprising Justice Anil K Narendran and Justice PG Ajithkumar sought a response from the Food Safety Department in a plea seeking a direction to the respondents to ensure that only high-quality Satwik (pure) raw materials are used in the preparation of Nivedyam/Prasadam at Sabarimala Temple.

 

The court was hearing the petition filed by SJR Kumar. SJR Kumar had filed a case about the usage of halal-certified jaggery in the Hindu holy shrine. He has argued that the jaggery, which is prepared as per the belief of another religion, cannot be used in Hindu temples. He said spoiled halal-certified jaggery was being used to prepare "Nivedyam" and "Prasadam" at the sacred Sabarimala Temple.

 

The Petitioner also argued that using halal-certified jaggery that is prepared as per the religious practices of another religion at the temple and using it in the offering to the deity amounts to a violation of religious customs and rituals of the temple.

 

 

 

The petition also points at the recent controversy regarding the practice of spitting on food materials to make it "halal" and points to speeches made by Muslim religious leaders that saliva is a necessary ingredient for certifying food materials as "halal".

 

"The use of Halal certified food materials, which is specifically prepared as per the religious beliefs of another community, is not a Satwik/pure material to be offered to Lord Ayyappa, a Naishtika Brahmachari meditating in Yoga asana," reads the petition.

 

The case has come at a time when multiple videos of Muslim clerics and Muslim workers spitting food at various places are making the rounds on social media.

.

.