Jallikattu Ordinance: Can Tamil Nadu beat Central law, Supreme Court?

State government plans to introduce an ordinance aimed at overriding the PCA, 1960. The possibility of the ordinance failing is high as the Constitution prioritises Central laws. PETA has vowed to challenge any ordinance in court.

The backroom drama happening away from the protests engulfing Tamil Nadu has involved many twists and turns since the Pongal weekend. On January 20, TN Chief Minister O Paneerselvam declared that the State Government would issue an ordinance to allow for jallikattu events. On the same day, the decided to delay its pending verdict on the legality of the jallikattu ban, following a request from the Centre.

The TN Government is planning to introduce a state amendment to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (PCA), which was the main central law that the SC cited while imposing its ban in 2014. The amendment will then be forwarded to the President by the Union Home Ministry for approval. The State Government can make such an amendment to the PCA as wildlife falls under the Concurrent List of the Constitution — both the State and Centre can make laws on issues under the List.

The decision to go down the ordinance route is the latest example of the muddled and opportunistic approach of the Central and State governments to the issue. After animal rights groups started protesting against jallikattu in 2004, the State government passed the Tamil Nadu Regulation of Jallikattu Act, 2009. This law did not receive presidential assent and cannot override the provisions of the PCA and was in essence invalidated by the SC with its ban.

The State Government’s plans to use the ordinance route will face legal complications, particularly as the issue is still pending with the Supreme Court. Further, any state amendments to the PCA that will negate existing provisions of the legislation will be automatically invalidated according to Article 251 of the Constitution, which gives primacy to Central laws over State laws on the same issue.

The NDA government is in a catch-22 situation as it has expressed support for TN’s position on the one hand and on the other, the Centre is obliged to uphold the SC’s verdict. The Centre would risk a loss of face if the new ordinance ends up being challenged in court again. Animal rights group PETA on January 19 warned that it would oppose the ordinance legally.

The NDA’s approach to jallikattu appears to have been hostage to political compulsions related to seeking the AIADMK’s support in the Rajya Sabha. The Narendra Modi government in January 2016 had removed bulls from the list of animals that are prohibited from being used as performing animals, allowing jallikattu to go ahead; the Centre’s notification was later stayed by the SC. While the Modi government has cautiously supported TN’s stance, it is yet unclear how far the Centre will go in supporting an ordinance.

In addition to the legal tangles, the determined attempts to bypass the Supreme Court’s power on the grounds of popular sentiment set a worrying precedent for similar contentious issues. Referring to the jallikattu protests, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi said the demonstrations showed that as “this nation cannot have a single culture,” a Uniform Civil Code — an issue as contentious as jallikattu — cannot be “imposed.”