SC not to pronounce Jallikattu verdict for a week

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed not to pronounce its verdict on Jallikattu for one week in the wake of large scale protests in Tamil Nadu against the ban on the bull-taming sport. A bench headed by Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar agreed to put the pronouncement on hold on a plea by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi who told the court that "cultural passions" were running high in the state. The apex court had in 2016 reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions by animal rights activist and organisations challenging a January 7, 2016 government notification taking out 'bulls' from the list of animals that cannot be exhibited or used for fights or races. The notification was then stayed by the top court a week after its issuance. The court was informed that both the Centre and Tamil Nadu were in touch and some measures were being taken to tackle the situation that surfaced in light of the harvest festival in which the ancient animal sport has special significance. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday and sought his intervention for dealing with the situation that has erupted in a four-day long protest at the Marina beach in Chennai and also large scale protests in the rest of the state.