Jallikattu can’t be termed blood sport: SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court said on Thursday notwithstanding the cruelty involved in ‘jallikattu’ it cannot be termed a blood sport as nobody is using any weapon and the blood may only be an incidental thing.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice KM Joseph said though cruelty may be involved in the sport, people do not take part in the event to kill the animal. Jallikattu, a bull-taming sport, is mainly played in Tamil Nadu as part of the Pongal harvest festival.

“Because there is death does not mean it is a blood sport. I don’t suggest that people who are going to participate and climb onto the bulls are going there to extract blood in that event. People are not going to kill the animal. Blood may be an incidental thing,” the bench, also comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and CT Ravikumar observed.

The top court, which Thursday reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the Tamil Nadu law allowing jallikattu, remarked in response to the submission of senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for some of the petitioners, who insisted jallikattu is a blood sport.

“Bloodsport used to be a very common event across the world and it involves animal, fight or contest and a great degree of brutality and cruelty. Secondly, there is scholastic material which appears to indicate that there are movements across the world that diminished cruelty from a citizen’s perspective. This combined with legal awareness and general reforms,” Divan said.

The bench remain unimpressed and asked, “How are you describing this as a blood sport? Nobody is using any weapon. What is your understanding of the concept? Here people are bare-handed. There may be cruelty involved but it cannot be termed as a blood sport.”

Divan said media reports have documented that spectators are injured and even gored to death in and outside the arena of the bull-taming sport. The top court had said on Wednesday it will be a “very dangerous situation” if the court made an impression based on photographs placed before it by some petitioners to depict alleged cruelty to bulls during the bull-taming sport.

The SC is hearing arguments on a batch of pleas against TN and Maharashtra laws allowing bull sports.

STATE’S STAND

In its written submissions filed last month in the apex court, the Tamil Nadu government has said: Jallikattu is a religious and cultural festival that bears a religious significance to the people of the state and does not violate the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960

2014 JUDGMENT

The top court had, in its 2014 judgment, said bulls cannot be used as performing animals either for “jallikattu” events or bullock-cart races, and banned their use for these purposes across the country