A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice KM Joseph also upheld the validity of the Maharashtra law allowing bullock-cart races. Jallikattu is a bull-taming sport played in Tamil Nadu as part of the Pongal festival.
The bench, also comprising justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy, and C T Ravikumar, delivered its verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra laws allowing Jallikattu and bullock-cart races. Supreme Court also allowed the validity of similar laws framed by the Karnataka governments allowing sports involving animals.
Saying that Jallikattu has been going on for the last few centuries, the apex court dismissed all the pleas challenging the validity of states’ laws allowing bull-taming sport Jallikattu and bullock cart races.