The sport is popular in at least four districts of southern Tamil Nadu and is part of the four-day Pongal festival, held in mid-January.
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According to a thewire.com report, the Centre has reportedly asked AWBI Chairman Maj General (retd) R M Kharb and Vice-Chairman Chinny Krishna to resign from their posts for challenging its notification.
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”.
“As an interim measure, we direct that there shall be stay of notification dated January 7, 2016 issued by Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF)”, a bench comprising justices Dipak Misra and N V Ramana said.
Supreme Court says state of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Central govt. should file a detailed response within week.
These groups argued that the government notification was against a Supreme Court verdict in May 2014.
Justice Bhanumathi had earlier banned the bull-taming sport when she was on the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court.
The central government, in a gazette notification last week, removed bulls from the list of animals that are banned from public display, thereby allowing the traditional sport during Pongal.
But there were certain provisions that such races will organised on a “proper track” and bulls are put to proper testing by the authorities of the Animal Husbandry. Bulls, once they leave the enclosure, have to be tamed within a radial distance of 15 metres, the government order said.
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The use of bulls in performances was banned by the UPA government in 2011 on the ground that the sport ended in cruelty to the animals.
