The last-ditch effort of the organisers of the bull-taming sport Jallikattu has failed after the Supreme Court on Wednesday junked pleas saying "the arrangements for the sport during the Pongal festival do not warrant alteration of the its previous order banning the sport."
The court rejected the organisers' submission that the district administration has made all arrangements for the sport during the festival. During the hearing, the jallikattu supporters told the court that colonial law should not be allowed to regulate culture.
However, the apex court said it saw no reason to modify its order
On Tuesday, the bench headed by Dipak Misra had stayed the Centre's notification lifting the ban on it. The court after hearing pleas filed by animal rights groups, including PETA, imposed the ban till March 15 on Jallikattu. The ban also included bullock cart races in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana, Kerala and Gujarat during this period.
The bench, citing points of law raised in a clutch of appeals against the January 7 notification, issued notices to the Centre, Tamil Nadu and other states, seeking their replies in four weeks.
It turned down the submission by the counsel for the Tamil Nadu government that prohibition on Jallikattu "will be creating a dent in culture".
The NDA government had on January 7 issued a notification allowing Jallikattu and bullock cart racing in TN, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat.
The ruling AIADMK and opposition DMK in Tamil Nadu had welcomed the move, which lifted the ban imposed on the harvest season traditional sport by the Centre's July 11, 2011 notification.
In Tamil Nadu, protests erupted in villages near Madurai after the Supreme Court stayed the Centre's notification. Roads connecting Alanganallur and Palamedu were blocked by protesters. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider bringing an ordinance to allow Jallikattu during the Pongal harvest festival.
