Supreme Court Constitution Bench to resume hearing the batch of petitions challenging Jallikattu and similar activities.
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Bench assembles.
Senior Advocate Shyam Divan to start his submissions.
Senior Advocate Shyam Divan to start his submissions.
Divan - Justice Rastogi had asked two questions yesterday:
1. How do we ascertain facts presented in the reports?
2. And how do we ascertain constitutional validity based on these reports?
1. How do we ascertain facts presented in the reports?
2. And how do we ascertain constitutional validity based on these reports?
Divan - IN PIL's
1. Facts have to be established on affidavit
2. Those facts can be ascertained via newspaper reports, etc.
Once satisfied with facts, then there is a need for counter affidavit.
1. Facts have to be established on affidavit
2. Those facts can be ascertained via newspaper reports, etc.
Once satisfied with facts, then there is a need for counter affidavit.
In the facts of the present case right from 2017 we have placed on records reports. They have been prepared by eye-witnesses who have gone there. These reports have not been countered.
Sibal - They have not served us the reports.
Divan - Too late in the day for you to say that. We have filed these affidavits since 2017. You chose not to file a reply - too bad!
Divan - Too late in the day for you to say that. We have filed these affidavits since 2017. You chose not to file a reply - too bad!
Divan - What has to be seen is the effect and consequence of the law and not the phraseology of the law to test the vires of these statutes.
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#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Divan reads H M Seervai's commentary from 1991 to state that newspaper reports are admissible in PIL's.
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#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Divan - Constitution benches of this court has again and again held that we need to look at the effect and consequence of the law and not the phraseology of the law. Cites judgments:
1. Bennet Coleman
2. Maneka Gandhi
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
1. Bennet Coleman
2. Maneka Gandhi
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Divan - Reports year after year have shown and documented the deaths and the continuing cruelty in the practise of Jallikattu.
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Divan - cites more constitution bench judgments of the SC o the principle - "it is the duty of the court to test the law based on its experience and its effect and not the phraseology".
It is the effect of the law that is decisive.
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
It is the effect of the law that is decisive.
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Justice Bose - All this is in the context of pith and substance.
Divan - Your lordship is right.
Justice Bose - Purpose of the law was tested.
Divan - No. Effect of the law.
Divan - Your lordship is right.
Justice Bose - Purpose of the law was tested.
Divan - No. Effect of the law.
Divan - It is hazardous to ignore the facts established through these reports for five continuous years. So the effect of the law becomes important.
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Divan - Now, how were these reports prepared?
To answer that, we have now filed an affidavit today in addition to the reports where we have stated clearly the entire process in which the reports were prepared by ground investigators.
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
To answer that, we have now filed an affidavit today in addition to the reports where we have stated clearly the entire process in which the reports were prepared by ground investigators.
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Divan - We have also defined what is a blood sport. That Jallikattu is a blood sport.
Justice Roy - Mr. Divan please explain what do you mean by blood sport. How are you describing this as blood sport? No body is using any weapon. What is your understanding of the concept?
Justice Roy - Mr. Divan please explain what do you mean by blood sport. How are you describing this as blood sport? No body is using any weapon. What is your understanding of the concept?
Justice Roy - Here people are bare handed. There could be cruelty. Don't show us definitions. Tell us how?
Divan - There is scholastic material. Reads out the nature of blood sports from a research paper.
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Divan - There is scholastic material. Reads out the nature of blood sports from a research paper.
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Divan reads out a research paper on "blood sport" and compares #Jallikattu to it.
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Divan - So, there should be death.
Justice Roy - Because there is death does not mean it is a blood sport. I have not yet got my answer. People there are not going to kill the animal. Blood may be an incidental thing.
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Justice Roy - Because there is death does not mean it is a blood sport. I have not yet got my answer. People there are not going to kill the animal. Blood may be an incidental thing.
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Divan - Reads out the findings of facts arrived at by the SC in AWBI vs. Nagaraja judgment with respect to the cruel nature of the Jallikattu sport.
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#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Justice Joseph - Mountaineering is also dangerous. So do we stop that?
Divan - Let me answer that. There is a concept of adventure sports/activity. I would not say mountaineering amounts to cruelty.
Justice Joseph - Cruelty to whom?
Divan - To animals.
Divan - Let me answer that. There is a concept of adventure sports/activity. I would not say mountaineering amounts to cruelty.
Justice Joseph - Cruelty to whom?
Divan - To animals.
Divan - I believe in aspects of mountaineering, there is an aspect of agency. In our understanding, animals don't have that. They can't give their consent.
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#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Divan - These are not random media reports. They have been documented by reliable media houses. Spectators are dying, spectators outside the bull run area are dying, bulls are killing people to death, etc. Your lordships should consider this.
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Divan - We have reproduced the procedure in which #Jallikattu is adopted in our submissions. We have also shown the rules therein. And what you will find is that the new rules were already captured in 2009.
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#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Divan - We have also given a comparison between the older and the newer regime. Roles of authorities remain the same, penalties have been removed, animal welfare authorities presence has been omitted, etc.
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#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Divan - Blood sport in generic sense means inflicting cruelty on the animal through bating. Now that can happen in different manners in different occasions.
Justice Joseph - In the event that we are upholding these rules, what would you like to be put in place which would improve the condition. Also, can you give us your position on rights vested in the animal in a jurisprudential sense.
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#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Divan - I decline to submit that we will give in and provide safeguards. We are arguing here on principle. If it goes against us, we will pursue it before a different forum, etc. But, your lordships second question is important on rights of animals.
Divan - Nagaraja articulates, very carefully and well calibrated, the rights of animals. It reflects:
1. On the duty imposed on individuals
2. Assimilation of five freedoms that are universally recognised which is a minimum requirement,
1. On the duty imposed on individuals
2. Assimilation of five freedoms that are universally recognised which is a minimum requirement,
Divan -
3. That there is an evolution in terms of our understanding of rights of animals as sentient beings, etc.
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3. That there is an evolution in terms of our understanding of rights of animals as sentient beings, etc.
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Divan - Nagaraja doesn't give habeas corpus to the animal.
Concludes his submissions.
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Concludes his submissions.
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Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra to begin his submissions responding to the Respondents.
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#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Luthra - A lot has been said on the existence of material. What I have done is we have made a chart comparing Jallikattu, Kambala, bullock cart races.
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#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Luthra - takes court through his submissions and the materials on record.
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#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
discussion on the issue of Jallikattu being a part of culture:
Luthra - Merely saying that it is a culture cannot be held to be a culture. And assuming that it is a culture, should all culture be allowed in today's day.
Luthra - Merely saying that it is a culture cannot be held to be a culture. And assuming that it is a culture, should all culture be allowed in today's day.
Luthra - On arbitrariness. An activity for amusement cannot be brought in the exception of doctrine of necessity. But that doctrine is rooted in reasonableness.
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Luthra - On the aspect of regime change. They themselves admit that 25 people are led into the ring, and therefore there is a fight response, etc. No change at all.
These acts don't follow constitutional morality.
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
These acts don't follow constitutional morality.
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Luthra - Nagaraja said these animals are unfit for this sport. Even if it has continued for years, doesn't mean we allowed it.
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Luthra - On personhood:
1. Ahimsa was one of the founding basis of this nation. We cannot do away with a principle of a non-violent environment.
1. Ahimsa was one of the founding basis of this nation. We cannot do away with a principle of a non-violent environment.
2. Animals may not be entitled to personhood to the extent of human beings - but they have a limited right to live with dignity and not be treated with cruelty.
Justice Joseph - What happens when you kill and eat them.
Luthra - They have a limited right. I began with that.
Justice Joseph - What happens when you kill and eat them.
Luthra - They have a limited right. I began with that.
Luthra - On presidential assent, your lordships have powers to see the files.
Concludes his submissions.
Senior Advocate Anand Grover to start his submissions.
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Concludes his submissions.
Senior Advocate Anand Grover to start his submissions.
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Grover - On presidential assent - this is a peculiar case on two counts:
1. Rules have been framed. They are the nub. When assent was sought, there were no rules. Now, if you don't have the rules, how can you, as a president, give your assent.
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1. Rules have been framed. They are the nub. When assent was sought, there were no rules. Now, if you don't have the rules, how can you, as a president, give your assent.
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Grover - Therefore president could not have given assent. Cites 1985 3 SCC 661.
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#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Grover - cites Brown vs. Board of Education to state that actual impact of the law needs to be taken into consideration while deciding the constitutionality.
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Grover - My last point on dignity. There is a crisis today of climate change. Children are protesting - what will happen to our future. In that context, the relationship of human beings with animals is seminal.
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
#SupremeCourtOfIndia #jallikattu
Grover - We have reached this state today because we have not accorded respect to animals and plants. Nagaraja tried to cover up for that. it saw the problems confronting humanity as a whole.
Grover - We still see sentient beings animals as serving us. That idea is changing now. We should situate our judgment in that context.
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Grover - If we say through this judgment that animals don't have dignity, we will be doing grave injustice to the legal jurisprudence. Indian Supreme Court is known for its judgments all across the world. Please preserve the essence of Nagaraj.
Concludes.
Concludes.
Senior Advocate K Venugopal begins.
K Venugopal - Women were also considered as chattels once. Philosophical basis for animal rights is that animals who are sentient beings are eligible to have rights. The five freedom comes from Int'l Law.
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K Venugopal - Women were also considered as chattels once. Philosophical basis for animal rights is that animals who are sentient beings are eligible to have rights. The five freedom comes from Int'l Law.
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K Venugopal - Mr. Divan talked about blood sport. In ancient Rome there used to a circus - where animals would fight people and animals. There the crowds enjoyed that they were fighting each other and that blood was spilled.
Venugopal - I am asking my lords that whether this sort of primitive urge that there are spectators who go to watch bulls with sharp horns being grappled by people should be permissible. Does this practise today does not take us 2000 years ago?
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Justice Roy - If the spectators are coming to watch bulls, the bulls are with weapons and not the spectators and yet you are arguing that the animal is suffering cruelty.
Venugopal - A small minority of people in TN made this a huge political issue in the state because of which the state govt was forced to bring in a legislation through a special session.
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Venugopal - In this entire process there is no reason why the bull will leave the ring and run into the arena unless there is torture. No govt servant or policemen is going to prevent it from running. For it to run it has to be tortured. Torture is the only way
Venugopal - Your lordships should watch the video we are presenting in the privacy of your chambers because I am submitting that what they are saying is not correct. there is not just one person in the arena but at least 25 people as they have admitted
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#SupremeCourtOfIndia
Venugopal - I have gone through the legislative materials which led to the passage of this PCA Act. It was for compassion towards animals. The exceptions that were carved out was to accommodate human needs.
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Venugopal - On legislative competence they have talked of this as if it has been passed by a legislature on a tabula rasa or a blank slate. They have failed to see that it is brought in the background of a central act and the Nagaraja judgment.
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Venugopal - Nagaraja concludes this is not a part of Tamil culture. There are several other findings of fact.
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Venugopal - When you have five years of data on the implementation of the act that has never been refuted. This law has been implemented with an "evil eye and an unequal hat"
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Venugopal - cites Judgment by Justice Chandrachud which says that the effect of the law needs to be taken into consideration - AIR 2021 SC 1797
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Venugopal - I want to distinguish my 21 argument from Mr. Grover. I am relying on the right to a safe wholesome environment and the animals are a part of my environment and I don't want an animal to be treated cruelly.
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Senior Advocate V. Giri to begin his submissions.
Bench - Someone should take the lead and compile all your submissions into one and give it to us. Because right now there are too many submissions/notes.
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Bench - Someone should take the lead and compile all your submissions into one and give it to us. Because right now there are too many submissions/notes.
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Giri - This is a case where the state has legislated the conduct of Jallikattu out of the purview of animal rights itself. That is why this is colourable. Is this an amendment to the PCA Act by taking Jallikattu out of the act itself.
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Giri - This is an enactment of a law which completely takes one sport out of the purview of prevention of cruelty to animals. This is not a legislation my lords. Rules can never be elevated to the status of a plenary legislation. Rules cannot plug the holes
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Giri - If Jallikattu is part of culture, Nagaraja considers and holds against. Now if your lordships, who are sitting in a larger bench, are to hold against it - what is the material placed before this court? In my submission there is total dearth of material.
Giri - There is no submission anywhere that conduct of Jallikattu is part of 25 rights or is an essential religious practise of the Hindu religion.
Concludes.
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Concludes.
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