Judging Jallikattu

Context:

A rural sport seen by courts for years as one inflicting cruelty on animals has now received judicial imprimatur. 

Endless Conflict:

• There has been an endless conflict between activists and proponents of the game, which culminated in a 2014 Court judgment banning the sport.
• The activists argue that any sport involving a physical contest between man and bull violates animal rights, while the other camp contends that none should stop something that is part of the State’s tradition and culture. 
• The State government responded to the ban by amending the Central Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, in its application to the State, and obtained the President’s assent. 
• A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court has now settled the issue, ruling in favour of jallikattu as a cultural event.

Key Findings of the five-judge Bench:

• The fresh regulations minimise the game’s potential for cruelty and pain formed the basis for the 2014 judgment. 
• The Court has accepted the legislature’s view that jallikattu is a sport conducted every year to follow tradition and culture.
• It has accepted the legislature’s wisdom on what constitutes cultural heritage, holding that the Court cannot embark on such an inquiry. 

Is this judgement diluted the part of the earlier Bench’s verdict? 

• It does not mean the Court has in any way diluted the part of the earlier Bench’s verdict. 
• Rather, it has deferred to the cultural sentiment underlying the legislative scheme by which sports such as jallikattu, kambala, a buffalo race in Karnataka, and bullock-cart racing in Maharashtra are not interdicted by the law preventing animal cruelty.

Conclusion:

• It may be time for organisers to mandate protective gear for the participants and strictly enforce rules for proper barricades to keep spectators safe. 
• Cultural assertion, and kindness to animals and adherence to safety norms need not be mutually exclusive.

 News Source: The Hindu