New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the law enacted by the Tamil Nadu government allowing the hugely popular bull-taming sport ‘Jallikattu’ and bullock cart races.
The order was passed by a five-judge Constitution bench of Justices KM Joseph, Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and CT Ravikumar.
Supreme Court, while dismissing all the pleas challenging the validity of the state’s law allowing bull-taming sport Jallikattu and bullock cart races, said the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 2017, substantially minimises pain and suffering to animals.
The Tamil Nadu government had defended the event of ‘Jallikattu’ and told the apex court that sporting events can also be cultural events and there is 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 cultural value,” the state had said.
Countries like Peru, Columbia and Spain consider bullfighting a part of their cultural heritage, the Tamil Nadu government had argued, adding that bulls involved in ‘Jallikattu’ are maintained by farmers around the year.