Jallikattu: Animal Rights Groups Move SC Against New Law; Hearing Monday [Read Petition]

Animal rights organizations headed by Animal Welfare Board of India today moved the Supreme Court challenging the new law passed by the Tamil Nadu assembly to allow bull-taming sport jallikattu and a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra agreed to hear them on Monday.

Urgent mentioning of it was made by senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Anand Grover.

The bench asked them to file their applications which will be taken up for hearing on January 30 when the Centre’s plea for withdrawing the January 6, 2016 notification will be taken up.

In their applications, the animal rights group has said that the new law passed by Tamil Nadu Assembly to allow Jallikattu has over reached the earlier verdict of apex court.

Yesterday the SC was informed by the Centre that it is withdrawing its 2016 notification allowing Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu in view of the fresh legislation passed by the state assembly on the issue.

“I am under instructions to inform the honourable court that the Centre has decided to withdraw the January 6, 2016 notification issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forest allowing the sport”, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had told a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra.

The court has already reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the notification.

The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has passed the Jallikattu Bill, 2017. Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao has forwarded the Bill to President Pranab Mukherjee who gave his assent.

Two days ago, the Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Department of Tamil Nadu Government had framed Tamil Nadu Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Conduct of Jallikattu) Rules, 2017.

On January 20, acting on a submission by Rohatgi, SC had agreed not to pass judgement for a week on the contentious issue

The bench took into account the Centre's submission that they were in talks with Tamil Nadu to find a way out in the matter.

During an urgent mentioning, Rohatgi said “ people of Tamil Nadu are passionate about Jallikattu and the Central government and the state are trying to resolve the issue. The Centre and the state are in talks to find a way out in the matter and our request is that the court should not deliver the judgement for at least a week”

Thousands of students gathered on the sands of Marina Beach in Chennai as protests demanding lifting of the ban on bull-taming sport 'jallikattu' snowballed across Tamil Nadu. Faced with mounting anger on the streets, the top brass of the state government got into a huddle as Chief Minister O Panneerselvam decided met Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking an ordinance for conduct of the age-old sport. He was accompanied by 51 MPs of AIADMK. He appealed to the students to give up their protests even as IT sector employees and several more actors joined the chorus for allowing 'jallikattu'.

Read the Petition and Applications here.

This article has been made possible because of financial support from Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation.