Supreme Court Refuses To Ban 'Jallikattu'

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Tamil Nadu law allowing 'Jallikattu', a traditional bull-taming sport in the state.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice K M Joseph, which delivered a unanimous verdict, also upheld the validity of Kambala in Karnataka and bullock-cart races in Maharashtra.

The bench comprising Justice KM Joseph, Justice Ajay Rastogi, Justice Aniruddha Bose, Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice CT Ravikumar observed that "when the Legislature has declared that Jallikattu is part of the cultural heritage of the Tamil Nadu state, Judiciary cannot take a different view. The legislature is best suited to decide that."

"We are satisfied with materials that Jallikattu has been going in Tamil Nadu for the last century. Whether this as part of an integral part of Tamil culture requires greater detail, which exercise the Judiciary cannot undertake. We do not accept the view of Nagaraja that Jallikattu is not a part of the cultural heritage of the state of Tamil Nadu. We do not think that there was sufficient material for the Court to come to that conclusion," the bench said.

'Jallikattu', also known as 'Eruthazhuvuthal', is a popular sport played in Tamil Nadu as part of the Pongal harvest festival.

A batch of petitions, including one filed by animal rights body PETA, have challenged Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra laws allowing the traditional bull-taming sport 'Jallikattu'.

In its 2014 judgement, the top court said bulls cannot be used as performing animals either for 'Jallikattu' events or bullock-cart races, and banned their use for these purposes across the country.

In 2018, the top court reffered the matter to the Constitution bench, saying the petitions challenging the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 2017, needed to be decided by a larger bench since they involved substantial questions relating to the interpretation of the Constitution.