NEW DELHI: Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi has cautioned the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) from taking shortcuts like issuing notification to take bulls out of the list of performing animals to allow bull taming sport Jallikattu, which was banned by the Supreme Court in 2014.
Instead, the A-G has suggested that the ministry explore legal course of bringing the amendment into law to achieve the same.
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar had in January asked Rohtagi’s view on the issue before ministry takes a call on the issue as the apex court in May 2014 had banned sports like Jallikattu and bullock cart racing across India.
States led by Tamil Nadu had been pushing to exclude bulls from the list of performing animals.
“The ministry was exploring the same but took advice from the A-G to be legally correct. The Attorney General has said that it will not be viable to issue a notification and instead suggested that amendment be brought in the Act to avoid legal confrontation as many animal activists are opposing the same,” said sources in the environment ministry.
The ministry is already working to put in place a legal framework to allow traditional sports and festivals, while ensuring that no cruelty is meted out to animals. The TSR Subramanian Committee, constituted by the government to revise green laws, also supported allowing traditional faiths and practices.