NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, MAY 18
In a boost to the ancient Tamil tradition of “eruthazhuvuthal”, the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the validity of the Tamil Nadu law allowing bull-taming sport “Jallikattu” in the state.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice K M Joseph, which delivered a unanimous verdict, also upheld the validity of the Maharashtra law allowing bullock-cart races.
- “Jallikattu”, also known “eruthazhuvuthal”, is a bull-taming sport played in Tamil Nadu as part of the Pongal festival
- Also rules for the Maharashtra law allowing bullock-cart races
“Jallikattu”, also known “eruthazhuvuthal”, is a bull-taming sport played in Tamil Nadu as part of the Pongal harvest festival.
The bench, also comprising justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and C T Ravikumar, delivered its verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra laws allowing “Jallikattu” and bullock-cart races.
Petitions including one filed by animal rights body PETA have challenged the state law that allowed the bull-taming sport in Tamil Nadu.
Earlier, the Tamil Nadu government has defended the sport and said that there was no cruelty on the bulls in ‘Jallikattu’.
“This is an incorrect notion that an activity, which is in nature of a sport or entertainment or amusement, cannot have a culture value,” the state had said. The state in its affidavit said that ‘Jallikattu’ is an “event with great historic, cultural and religious value.”
Earlier the apex court had set aside the petitions against the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 2017, to a larger bench. The bench had frame five questions relating to interpretation of the Constitution.
The top court has said that a larger bench would decide whether state have “legislative competence” to make such laws on grounds.
The SC had observed that ‘Jallikattu’ cannot be termed as a blood sport as nobody is using any weapon and blood is only incidental.
“Because there is death does not mean it is a blood sport. I don’t suggest that people who are going to participate and climb onto the bulls are going there in order to extract blood in that event. People are not going to kill the animal. Blood may be an incidental thing,” the bench observed, reported PTI.
Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra has amended the central law, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and allowed the Jallikattu and bullock-cart racing respectively. Challenging the state laws, a petition was filed in the top courts.
Earlier, in its 2014 judgment, the apex court said that bulls cannot be used as performing animals either in ‘Jallikattu’ or bullock-cart races and banned their use for these purposes across the country.
