A view of the Supreme Court of India. The court will on Thursday pronounce its verdict on petitions challenging laws allowing the traditional bull-taming sport ‘Jallikattu’ and bullock cart racing in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. , photo credit: s. subramaniam
The Supreme Court will on Thursday pronounce its verdict on petitions challenging Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra laws allowing the traditional bull-taming sport ‘Jallikattu’ and bullock cart races.
“Jallikattu”, also known as “Eruthazhuvuthal”, is a bull-taming sport played as part of the Pongal harvest festival in Tamil Nadu.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice KM Joseph can give its verdict.
The single judgment will be pronounced by Justice Aniruddha Bose, according to the cause list published on the Supreme Court website.
The petitions, including one filed by animal rights body PETA, have challenged the state law that allowed the sport of bull taming in Tamil Nadu.
The Supreme Court had earlier said that the petitions against the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 2017 needed to be decided by a larger bench as they involved substantial questions relating to the interpretation of the Constitution.
The bench framed five questions to be decided by the larger bench.
The Supreme Court had said that despite the brutality involved in “Jallikattu”, it cannot be called a blood sport as no one is using any weapon and blood can only be an accidental thing.
It had said that although the sport may involve cruelty, people do not take part in organizing the killing of the animal.
“Just because there’s death doesn’t mean it’s a blood sport. I don’t suggest that people who are going to participate and mount bulls are going there to draw blood at that event. People Animals are not going to be killed. Blood can be an accidental thing,” the bench, which also included Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and CT Ravikumar, had observed.
The apex court, in its 2014 verdict, had said that bulls cannot be used as performance animals for “Jallikattu” events or bullock cart races, and banned their use for these purposes across the country. Have given.