PANAJI
Supreme Court's decision to uphold the validity of Amendment Acts allowing bull-taming sport ‘Jallikattu’ has given hope for legalising Goa's traditional bullfighting sport ‘dhiro’.
'Dhirios', have been banned in Goa for the violation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
Reacting to the SC decision, Venzy Viegas Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Benaulim -- known to be a hub of bullfighting -- said “it's a window of hope to legalise Goa's traditional bullfighting sport”.
Viegas said if the cruelty element is minimised by a Goa specific statute, it will pass the test of law.
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the validity of amendment acts of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka which allowed bull-taming sport ‘Jallikattu’, bullock-cart races and buffalo racing sport ‘Kambala’, saying they are “valid legislations”.
In a unanimous verdict, a five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice K M Joseph noted that The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 2017, The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Maharashtra Amendment) Act, 2017 and The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka Second Amendment) Act, 2017 were enacted by the respective state legislatures and had received presidential assent.
‘Jallikattu’, also known ‘eruthazhuvuthal’, is a sport played in Tamil Nadu as part of the Pongal harvest festival.
The ‘Kambala’ race, held in Karnataka between November and March, involves a pair of buffaloes tied to a plough and anchored by one person. They are made to run in parallel muddy tracks in a competition in which the fastest team wins.
The bench said ‘Jallikattu’ is a type of bovine sports and “we are satisfied on the basis of materials disclosed before us, that it is going on in the state of Tamil Nadu for at least last few centuries”.
“Our decision on the Tamil Nadu Amendment Act would also guide the Maharashtra and the Karnataka Amendment acts and we find all the three Amendment Acts to be valid legislations,” the bench, also comprising justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and C T Ravikumar, said in its 56-page judgement.
