The Bombay High Court on Wednesday restrained the Maharashtra Government from granting permission for the conduct of bullock cart races, till proper guidelines were framed so as to ensure against cruelty to the animals used in the competition.
Four months after the Government amended the earlier Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act to revoke the ban on bullock cart races in the State, a HC division bench of Chief Justice Manjulla Chellur and Justice N M Jamdar pulled up the Devendra Fadenavis dispensation for its failure to frame guidelines to enforce the new law—the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Maharashtra Amendment) Act,2017.
Hearing a petition filed by a Pune resident Ajay Marathe seeking a stay on the amended law ahead of a bullock cart race scheduled to be held in Pune on Thursday, the HC bench prohibited the Maharashtra Government from granting any permission for the bullock cart races in the State in the absence of guidelines for the conduct of the event.
Making it clear that State Government could not grant permission for the bullock cart races till such time that the rules were not framed, Chief Justice Chellur noted: “Even if and after the rules are framed, we would first go through the same and only after our nod the races would be permitted,” the Chief Justice said.
Justice Chellur went onto add: “The state is obligated to evolve a mechanism or a procedure on how it proposes to ensure that no harm or suffering is caused to the animals”.
Alluding to the order passed by the Supreme Court the Jallikattu matter, Chief Justice Chellur said: "It is clear from the apex court order that bulls cannot be viewed as performing animals since they are not anatomically designed for that purpose. They are not horses".
Earlier, the State Government’s counsel Abhinandan Vagyani had informed the court that the draft rules were ready and had been uploaded on the Government’s website for inviting suggestions and objections from persons concerned. While prohibiting the state Government from granting permission to the organisers for the conduct of bullock cart races named as "Chakadi", "Bailgada Sharyat", or "Shankar Paat" till guidelines were framed, the HC bench directed the State Government to file its say in the matter within two weeks.
Under the new law, bullock cart races will be allowed in any district where it is being traditionally held at such places. However, the organisers will have to seek prior permission from the district collector concerned giving an undertaking that the event would result in “no pain or suffering envisaged by any person or person in charge of the animal used to conduct the bullock cart race”.
The new legislation stipulates that any person found guilty of injuring or causing harm to the animal would be punished with three years imprisonment or a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh.
With a stated intent to follow and promote tradition and culture and ensure preservation of native breeds of bulls as also their purity, safety, security and well-being, the Maharashtra Government had in April this year enacted a new legislation seeking to re-start bullock-cart racing along the lines of Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu.
Bullock-cart racing has long been a popular sport in some parts of Maharashtra. However, after bulls were included as performing animals in the ambit of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, bullock-cart races had been banned in Maharashtra in 2011.
However, after the recent Jallikattu was legalised in Tamil Nadu, the ruling Shiv Sena was clamouring for the lifting of ban on the bullock cart racing in Maharashtra. The Sena had organised protests in some parts of the State, demanding re-starting of bullock cart races in the State.
Buckling under pressure from the Shiv Sena and other political parties, the Maharashtra Government amended the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act to revoke the ban on bullock cart races in the State.