Days after the central government gave a go ahead to Jallikattu, the Supreme Court ruled that the bull-taming festival would not be celebrated in Tamil Nadu this year. Hearing a bunch of petitions against the government order, the apex court stayed the Centre’s notification allowing Jallikattu. The Animal Welfare Board had also filed a plea in the Supreme Court against the comeback of Jallikattu.

A bench comprising justices Dipak Misra and N V Ramana issued notice to the MoEF and Tamil Nadu on petitions filed by various bodies including Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) seeking striking down of the Centre’s notification and sought their replies within four weeks.

Earlier during the day, a bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur referred the petitions to the present bench as one of the judges Justice Banumathi, who hails from Tamil Nadu, recused from hearing the batch of petitions. The four-year-old ban on holding of Jallikattu was lifted on January 8 by the Modi government in poll-bound Tamil Nadu with certain restrictions.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India had also filed a plea in the Supreme Court, demanding that the Centre’s recent notification allowing Jallikattu and bullock cart races be “struck down”.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said Jallikattu is not the “bull fight of Spain” and care had been taken to include provisions in the 2016 notification to prevent cruelty to the animals. Reacting to the stay issued by the Supreme Court on jallikattu, Union Minister Pon. Radhakrishnan urged the Centre and State to take all legal measures to allow jallikattu this year and lift the stay.