New Delhi: The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of state laws framed to allow bull-taming sport jallikattu in Tamil Nadu, race of male buffaloes known as kambala in Karnataka and bullock cart race in Maharashtra, saying that there are sufficient provisions to prevent cruelty to animals in these ancient sports.
A five-judge constitution bench of Justices K M Joseph, Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and C T Ravikumar said there was no flaw in the Acts framed by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra. It said the court’s jurisdiction does not extend to providing absolute protection to animals from any manner of infliction of pain and suffering but to ensure that the animals are protected from unnecessary pain and suffering, and these laws fulfil the test.
The law was framed after the SC in 2014 banned jallikattu and bullock cart race for causing cruelty to animals. To override the order, the Centre issued a notification that bulls might be continued to be trained as performing animals at events such as jallikattu and bullock cart races in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana, Kerala and Gujarat for being part of the states’ culture, and three state governments thereafter brought amendments in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
Upholding the amendments, the SC refused to accept the plea that the amendment Acts were void because they sought to override its 2014 judgment in the A Nagaraja case. It said such arguments cannot be sustained as the basis of that judgment with regard to the nature and manner in which the offending activities were carried on has been altered.