This is the 2nd Part of the two-part blog which discusses the issues that arose as a result of granting the Geographical Indication Tag to the sacred Prasadam of the Tirupati Temple. In this blog the author has discussed about the criticisms of GI Tag and throws light on how the granting of such GI Tags violates the law in force.

Part I of the blog had dealt with the history and background of the Tirupati Laddu, the granting of GI Tag to the Laddu and the issues that emerged thereof.

Just two weeks after the laddu was granted GI Tag, in October 2009, J Mohanraj, then General Secretary of Jebamani Janata Party filed a PIL in the Madras High Court defining the act as exemplary of commercialization of divine affairs. The main grounds challenged in the petition were that religious symbols could not be monopolized by private entities and along with that the petitioner also argued that such grants contravened.

Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution of India. The Madras High Court rejected the petition contending that alternate remedy of rectification had not been exhausted, that being the most appropriate route in this case. The GI Act, 1999 provides for two forums for rectification of a registered GI namely, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB), New Delhi and the Registrar of Geographical Indications, Chennai, hence, leading to the dismissal of the petition.

Following this, R. S. Praveen Raj, a scientist working with the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram and former Examiner of Patents and Designs at the Chennai branch of the Patent Office, wrote a letter to the Supreme Court objecting to the same and requested that the letter should be treated as a writ petition. However, the petition was dismissed on the grounds of an existing alternative and efficacious forum, directing the petitioner to approach the latter following which Mr. Praveen Raj filed a petition before the GI Registry, Chennai. He stated in his petition that the granting of the GI tag to Tirupati Laddu...