Supreme Court of India has stayed the notification issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India which had allowed the use of bull for the traditional Tamil festive event ‘Jallikattu’ and bullock cart races in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana, Kerala and Gujarat.

A bench consisting of Justice Dipak Misra and NV Ramana passed this order in a batch of four petitions challenging the validity of the notification and a contempt petition claiming that the notification is contrary to court’s earlier judgment.

The petitioners were represented by senior advocates Aryama Sundaram,  Dushyant Dave, KK Venugopal, Sidharth Luthra and Anand Grover. Union of India was represented by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and senior advocate L Nageshwar Rao represented the state of Tamil Nadu.

Petitioners submitted before the Court that Jallikattu caused cruelty and torture to the bulls. AG Rohatgi however refuted the argument contending that Jallikattu was not same as the bull fighting in Spain and is conducted in small space without any torture to the bulls.

After the arguments were heard, bench dictated the order issuing notice to the Union of India and the concerned states and asked them to file their replies to the petition. As an interim measure, court stayed the operation of the gazette notification allowing Jallikattu and bullock car races.

The petitions were filed by Animal Welfare Board of India, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Compassion Unlimited plus Action (CUPA), Gauri Maulekhi, People For Ethical Treatment of Animals and Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organizations (FIAPO).

After Jallikattu was stayed by the apex court, reportedly, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to promulgate ordinance forthwith to enable conduct of Jallikattu.

Order of the court can be read here.

Mohit Singh

Mohit Singh is an advocate at the Supreme Court of India.

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