SC allows Jallikattu; a victory, says TN

A participant during the Jallikattu competition, in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Animal rights groups, led by PETA, had challenged in the SC sport activities involving bulls and buffaloes. File pic/PTI

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the validity of the Tamil Nadu law allowing bull-taming sport "Jallikattu" played as part of the Pongal harvest festival in the state. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice K M Joseph, which delivered a unanimous verdict, also upheld the validity of the Maharashtra law allowing bullock-cart races.

The bench, also comprising justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and C T Ravikumar, delivered its verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra laws allowing "Jallikattu" and bullock-cart races. The DMK lauded party chief M K Stalin-led dispensation for the favourable judgment, saying it was possible due to the government placing "good" arguments in support of jallikattu in the court.

In a tweet, Stalin said, "The verdict delivered by the Supreme Court bench that there is no ban on holding jallikattu, a sport reflecting Tamils' bravery and culture is worth engraving in gold in the history of Tamil Nadu." "We are constructing a massive jallikattu arena in Alanganallur (in Madurai). We will celebrate a victory event during Pongal" in January 2024, he added.

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The BJP's state unit credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "persistent efforts" for the removal of the ban. PETA India said it is exploring legal remedies to protect bulls after the Supreme Court upheld the validity of amendment acts of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka which allowed bull-taming sport ‘Jallikattu', bullock-cart races and buffalo racing sport ‘Kambala'. Animal rights groups, led by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), had challenged these practices in the SC.

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