New Delhi: Voicing its concern over extreme torture of animals by human beings, the Supreme Court on Wednesday declared that ‘jallikattu’ or bull racing festival practised in some states as unconstitutional and against the inherent rights of animals to live peacefully and with dignity. The top court said that Parliament must take the initiative to elevate the rights of animals as constitutional rights.
“All living creatures have inherent dignity and a right to live peacefully and right to protect their well-being which encompasses protection from beating, kicking, over-driving, over-loading, torture, pain and suffering etc. Human life, we often say, is not like animal existence, a view having anthropocentric bias, forgetting the fact that animals also have got intrinsic worth and value,” said a bench headed by Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan. “Animal has also honour and dignity which cannot be arbitrarily deprived of and its rights and privacy have to be respected and protected from unlawful attacks,” it said.
Declaring Tamil Nadu Regulation of Jallikattu Act, 2009, as constitutionally void and being violative or Article 254(1) of the Constitution, the bench said organizers of jallikattu deprive the bulls of the rights guaranteed under Section 3 of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960. “Bulls cannot be used as performing animals, either for the jallikattu events or bullock-cart races in the states of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra or elsewhere in the country,” the bench, also comprising Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, said.
“We are sorry to note that in spite of the various directions issued by this court, in the conduct of jallikattu, bullock cart race etc, the regulatory provisions of TNRJ Act and the restrictions in Maharashtra, the situation is the same and no action is being taken by the district collectors, police officials and others who are in charge to control the same,” it said.
