Jallikattu row: Top court stays Centre notice to AWB

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a show cause notice issued by the Union ministry of environment and forests to the Animal Welfare Board for rushing to the court challenging the January 7 notification removing ‘bulls’ from the list of ‘performing animals’ to pave way for holding of jallikattu this year.

A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh stayed the Centre’s show cause notice to the AWBI and its effort to reconstitute the board, as the government wanted to teach a lesson to the board for going against its interests. It sought reply in four weeks.

On January 7, the Centre’s controversial move to relax the ban on jallikattu -the traditional bull taming festival in Tamil Nadu - could not materialise after the apex court stayed the notification.

Taking serious view of the petition filed by the AWBI, the Government had issued show cause notice to the AWBI as to why action should not be taken against it.

Though the reply was filed, the Centre refused to withdraw the notice. Against this the AWBI filed the present application.

Senior counsel Krishan Venugopal, appearing for AWBI, submitted that the show cause notice was issued to the board despite the fact that the question relating to locus standi of the board was already pending before the apex court. He said it is not open to the Centre to question the locus stand of AWBI by means of a show cause notice when the issue of maintainability of the instant writ petition is pending before this Court.

The application said that the AWBI cannot be served with a show cause notice by the respondent for dutifully carrying out its statutory functions under the PCA Act and complying with the directions passed by this Court. It sought a stay on the show cause notice dated 28-3-2016, so that no coercive or vindictive steps are taken against it.