SC to hear Animal Welfare Board's plea against Jallikattu ordinance today

On Jan 23, the TN Assembly unanimously passed the Jallikattu Bill revoking the ban on the sport

The Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear several pleas regarding the controversial bull-taming sport of Jallikattu, including the crucial one by the Animal Welfare board of India seeking the Tamil Nadu government's law to be made invalid on the sport.

The plea termed the amendment a "fraud" on the Constitution and a violation of a 2014 Supreme Court judgement, which had declared Jallikattu as an "inherently cruel" event practised on bulls.

It further described Jallikattu as an "extremely violent" event where untrained persons either volunteer or are "coerced" into taming or fighting terrified bulls agitated by the organisers and the crowd.

The apex court had earlier on November 16 last year rejected the plea of the Tamil Nadu government seeking review of the 2014 judgement which had banned the use of bulls for Jallikattu events in the state.

After hearing from various petitioners and respondents in the case, a division bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Dipak Misra and also comprising Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, dismissed the state government's review petition.

The court in its order had said, "We are of the opinion that the review petition does not contain any merit and thus accordingly we dismiss it."

The state government had filed the review petition in the apex court in 2014 through its chief secretary.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly on January 23 unanimously passed the Jallikattu Bill revoking the ban on the bull taming sport.

Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao on January 21 approved the ordinance issued by the state government.

The ban had seen massive opposition in the state, with scores of people coming out at the famous Marina beach to voice their support for the sport.