SC rejects plea to lift ban on Jallikattu

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on January 12 dismissed a plea to lift the ban on the bull-taming sport of Jallikattu, a day after the AIADMK and the Tamil Nadu chief minister O Panneerselvam urged the Centre to issue an ordinance to allow the sport,  removing bulls from the list of animals prohibited from being exhibited or trained as performing animals.

The petition had sought the apex court's intervention to pass the judgement.

However, the court said that the draft of the Jallikattu judgement had been prepared but it was not possible to deliver it before Saturday, when the festival is to be organised in Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu had asked the Centre to promulgate an ordinance to enable the smooth conduct of the bull taming sport. The government has said "things are ready from our side" but insisted that it would wait for the Supreme Court's decision on the issue.

Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave, who met a delegation led by Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha M Thambidurai, on this issue also blamed the previous Congress-led UPA government for including bulls in the list of animals prohibited from being exhibited or trained as performing animals.

Dave asserted that there was no ill-treatment of the bulls during the performance of the sport and expressed confidence that the Supreme Court will look into all these aspects while giving its decision so that the people could celebrate their festivals in the traditional manner.

The Supreme Court in November 2016 had dismissed the plea of the state government seeking review of its 2014 judgement which banned the use of bulls for Jallikattu events in the state.