Petition in SC against Minister for allegedly encouraging buffalo fight in Sivasagar

An RTI activist and member of Aranya Suraksha Samiti, Assam, has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against Urban Affairs Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah for allegedly encouraging a buffalo fight during Magh Bihu celebrations in Sivasagar. The petition claims that the event violated the Supreme Court’s ban on animal fights, and Minister Mallabaruah attended the event as the chief guest. Despite clear orders from the courts to ban such practices, the event proceeded with the Minister’s participation. The activist submitted video footage of the event and Mallabaruah’s speech as chief guest as evidence to the Supreme Court and requested appropriate action against both the organisers and the Minister for violating the ban. PETA India also reported multiple buffalo fights held in different districts of Assam during the Magh Bihu celebrations, prompting an FIR against the organisers in Nagaon. The Gauhati High Court had previously quashed a government notification allowing such fights, following a Supreme Court judgment in 2014 that banned these practices.