Supreme Court refers jallikattu challenge to Constitution Bench

Supreme Court refers jallikattu challenge to Constitution Bench

Context

Jallikattu issue

What happened?

The Supreme Court on Friday referred to a Constitution Bench to decide whether the people of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra can conserve jallikattu and bullock-cart races as their cultural right and demand their protection under Article 29 (1) of the Constitution.

What is article 29 (1): Right to conserve a culture, distinct language etc.

• Article 29 (1) is a fundamental right guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution to protect the educational and cultural rights of citizens.
• Though commonly used to protect the interests of minorities, Article 29 (1) mandates that “any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same”.

To Constitution bench

• The Constitution Bench would also look into whether the 2017 jallikattu and bullock cart races laws of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra actually subserve the objective of “prevention” of cruelty to animals under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960.
• The Bench will also have to say whether the laws are really in consonance with the basic tenets of the 1960 Act.

If the Constitution bench upholds Jallikattu?

If jallikattu is upheld by the Constitution Bench as a cultural right and part of the “collective culture” of the people of Tamil Nadu under Article 29 (1), provisions of other laws which undermine jallikattu may run the risk of being struck down