SC takes Centre by horns in Jallikattu case

NEW DELHI: The Centre defended a popular but controversial bull-taming sport of Tamil Nadu before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, contending that even Lord Krishna

NEW DELHI: The Centre defended a popular but controversial bull-taming sport of Tamil Nadu before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, contending that even Lord Krishna had wrestled with bulls.

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People should be allowed to participate in Jallikattu— an event held during the Pongal festivities in January—because it was part of their fundamental right to freedom of religion, the NDA government said in an affidavit. It also cited instances from the Mahabharata to illustrate how catering to religious traditions was necessary to preserve unity in a federal state.

“To conduct Jallikattu is a part of the right to freedom of religion, and such a fundamental right cannot be overridden by the provisions of the statute (law on prevention of cruelty to animals),” the document read. The affidavit was tabled in response to a bunch of petitions that challenged a January 1, 2016 notification allowing the sport.

However, during the hearing, a bench headed by justice Dipak Misra refused to accept a similar contention of the Tamil Nadu government that the practice of Jallikattu be allowed to continue because it was a custom.

“Even child marriage is a custom. Should we allow that also? We will go by the law and not by customs,” the bench — also comprising justice RF Nariman — shot back. It then fixed August 30 as the date of hearing.

The Supreme Court had stayed the implementation of the government order, resulting in no Jallikattu events taking place this year. The notification was aimed at overcoming the ban imposed on the event subsequent to the apex court’s May 2014 verdict, which stated that the practice violated the law on prevention of cruelty to animals.

In the affidavit, the Centre claimed that a custom practised for over 100 years becomes a law or right.

“Apart from being a part of Tamil Nadu’s culture and heritage, it is also integral to the religious beliefs and sentiments of several communities,” it said. It added that the government was following the norms laid down by Unesco to preserve a nation’s culture and heritage by permitting the practice.

The government laid emphasis on the Mahabharata to establish that bull-taming was a non-violent sport that allowed the youth to showcase their strength in a harmless fashion. “The epic cites an instance of Lord Krishna controlling a violent bull in the atrium of king Kamsa’s palace. In another chapter, Lord Krishna tames seven bulls to marry princess Naganajiti, the daughter of king Nagnajit of Kosala — which later prospered into a tradition in the Velir kingdom of Tamil Nadu,” the affidavit stated.

Besides this, the Centre’s affidavit claimed that Jallikattu played an important part in maintaining biodiversity. If the sport was banned, livestock keepers would be forced to stop raising native breeds of livestock that which were already under threat, it added.

The document further submitted that only specific indigenous species of bulls — wellbred, nourished and adjudged fit — were used for the purpose. Besides, the government notification has prescribed adequate safeguards to ensure no animal was harmed during the event, it said.