Tamil Nadu government pleads in Supreme Court for lifting jallikattu ban

The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court to lift the ban imposed on January 12 on holding of jallikattu (taming the bull) in the state. In view of the stay, jallikattu could not be conducted this year during Pongal festival.

Acting on a batch of petitions a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra had accepted the contention that the Centre’s notification dated January 7 allowing jallikattu violated the 2014 judgment banning jallikattu.

The court acted on petitions from the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) and supported by Peta India, the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) and Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) against the January 7, 2016 notification. Further, individuals Sowmya Reddy, Radha Rajan and Gauri Maulekhi filed petitions against this notification, with two of them being contempt petitions.

All these petitions called for the court to strike down the January 7, 2016 notification as it violates the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. It was argued that such a sport should not be allowed.

During the resumed hearing on Tuesday, the Centre pleaded for time to file its response. At the outset, the bench said there was no contempt of the order as the state had not conducted jallikattu as only some individuals were alleged to have done this.

In its response, Tamil Nadu said: “Jallikattu is a traditional sport event of rural masses in the state having a 2,000-year-old tradition and history, religious background and in no way it inflicts any pain or torture on participating animals.”