The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to the Centre's suggestion to pause the delivery of its judgment on the validity of the government’s January 7, 2016 notification allowing jallikattu, for at least a week, till the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government resume talks to resolve the impasse amidst public volatility.
‘Passions are high’
Justice Dipak Misra, the lead judge on the Bench, which heard and reserved the jallikattu case, agreed to Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi’s plea to hold the delivery of the verdict for the time being. Mr. Rohatgi, in an urgent mentioning, said the “passions are high” and agitations were on in full swing and there would be an “immense problem” if the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government do not resolve the issue quickly.
Mr. Rohatgi sought status quo from the court for a week so that the situation may not change for the worse and light another fuse in an already volatile situation. Justice Misra merely said “Ok”.
Incidentally, the court agreed to the Centre's plea for deferring the judgment even though last week it had refused a plea by several lawyers to pronounce the jallikattu verdict before the start of Pongal.
On January 19, the court had refused to intervene on a plea that the police were harassing the protestors, and in some cases, even denying them access to drinking water. The court had termed it an issue of “police excess” and asked the applicant to go to the Madras High Court.
Friday’s mentioning came in the midst of heightened demands to lift the Supreme Court’s ban on jallikattu since 2014. The Court had banned the event in 2014, declaring it an “inherent act of cruelty” against bulls. A review petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government against the 2014 judgment was also dismissed by the apex court in November 2016.
Petitions challenging the Centre’s January 7, 2016 notification re-introducing bulls as 'performing animals' were reserved for judgment by the Supreme Court. The court had also stayed the notification on pleas made by animal activists.
The Tamil Nadu government had vehemently argued in favour of the notification, saying that it had introduced stringent controls over the conduct of jallikattu.
"For 30 seconds or 15 feet, whichever is longer, the bull runs and is embraced by a tamer. What is the cruelty in that,” Tamil Nadu government had asked in the main hearings on the January 7 notification.
Additional Solicitor-General P.S. Narasimha, for the Centre, had argued against “absolute prohibitionism” in the case of jallikattu. It has to acknowledge that the government should be allowed a degree of flexibility in particular cases.
The Centre had contended that jallikattu was inextricably linked to the rural life of Tamil Nadu, where villagers cannot shed their centuries-old culture and “go watch Formula One racing”.
