The Gauhati High Court has directed the Assam government to ensure that no buffalo fights (Moh-Juj) take place in the State and to initiate appropriate penal action against any organisers of such events until further orders.
Justice Anjan Moni Kalita heard the case on April 4. The interim order, released on Tuesday (April 21, 2026), was passed following a writ petition filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA India), citing illegal buffalo fights conducted in various districts of Assam during Magh Bihu in January.
The court observed that buffalo fights in Assam cannot be permitted under the statutory provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and that any subsequent organisation of such events would violate binding judicial precedents.
PETA India had filed new photographic evidence of alleged cruelty to buffaloes before the Gauhati High Court. The documentation showed buffaloes with open wounds, often beaten with thick sticks during the events and pulled by nose ropes to force them to fight, resulting in injuries.
PETA India sought accountability and urgent action against the events that took place and immediate intervention to prevent future events from being held in defiance of the Gauhati High Court’s orders and the Supreme Court’s judgment in Animal Welfare Board of India vs A. Nagaraja.
