The Supreme Court today refused to stay the new legislation passed recently by the Tamil Nadu assembly allowing bull-taming sport Jallikattu in the state.
A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and R F Nariman also permitted the Centre to withdraw the January 7, 2016 notification allowing Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu.
The apex court permitted animal rights bodies and other individuals to amend their pending petitions to challenge the new legislation.
It also asked senior advocates K Parasaran and Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for Tamil Nadu, to convey to the state government to maintain law and order situation.
Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying "Given that Pongal festival, which holds great importance to the people of Tamil Nadu, is less than a week away and Jallikattu is an integral part of the Pongal festivities, considering the urgency of the issue, Government of India should consider promulgating an ordinance removing the legal impediments, enabling the conduct of Jallikattu during Pongal, 2017," he said in the letter.
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Not just in India, there were several hundred Tamil-Americans who held a rally at the Gandhi statue in USA to show support for the Jallikattu movement demanding lifting of the ban on bull-taming sport which is an integral part of Tamilian culture.
On 22 January, 2017, owing to the protests, two persons were killed and 28 suffered minor injuries during Jallikattu in Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu. Other than that, a man died due to dehydration in Madurai during protests demanding a 'permanent solution' for holding the sport.
The video below explains what the sport Jallikattu is all about:
