The Supreme Court on Friday said all applications filed to challenge Tamil Nadu’s amendment of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960, allowing jallikattu to be held in the State, would be heard on January 31.
A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Rohinton Nariman will have a scheduled hearing of the challenges against the new jallikattu law.
Meanwhile, Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi informed a Bench led by Justice Misra, in a mentioning, that the Centre has filed an interim application seeking to withdraw its notification of January 7 last year, bringing bulls back into the stable of performing animals under the 1960 Act in the light of the new law passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly on January 23.
Justice Misra told Mr. Rohatgi that the government’s application would also be heard along with the applications filed by Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), Compassion Unlimited Plus Action, other animal rights organisations and activists against the Tamil Nadu law on January 31.
Meanwhile, an advocate from Tamil Nadu G.S. Mani challenged the applications made by AWBI and others. Mr. Mani, who is party-in-person, said the applications were filed “only to target the Indian traditions like jallikattu, etc.” “They are not the animal protectors; they are anti-national. In the name of animal protector, they are targeting nation’s culture, custom and tradition, etc,” the interim application said.
Mr. Mani argued that the Tamil Nadu legislature had every authority to pass an amendment allowing jallikattu, keeping in view the popular protests of the public. An amendment is not a deliberate nullification of the 2014 SC judgment banning Jallikattu, but a decision taken by the representatives of the people taking into consideration the people’s wishes.
AWBI plea
The lawyer urged the apex court to reject the AWBI application against jallikattu, claiming that no permission was received from the Board to move the Supreme Court. “The interlocutory application filed by Anjali Sharma, Advocate and Member of AWB challenging Tamil Nadu Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment), Ordinance, 2017 (Tamil Nadu Ordinance 1 of 2017) to conduct of Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu on behalf of AWB is totally fraud played on court as there is no permission by the Animal Welfare Board to file such application. Therefore, the above said application filed by Ms. Anjali Sharma, member of AWB, is not only maintainable but amount to contempt of court for playing fraud on court,” Mr. Mani contended.
