The Gauhati High Court has instructed the Assam government to immediately stop buffalo fights, locally known as Moh-Juj, and to initiate penal proceedings against organisers until further notice. Justice Anjan Moni Kalita issued the interim order on April 21, 2026, after hearing a petition filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India.

The petition argued that buffalo fights, often staged during Magh Bihu celebrations, breach the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and contravene established judicial rulings. PETA presented fresh photographic evidence showing buffaloes suffering from open wounds, beaten with heavy sticks, and forced into combat by nose ropes. The organisation urged the court to hold organisers accountable and to prevent future events that disregard judicial directives.

The bench recalled that in December 2024, the High Court had already struck down the Assam government’s Standard Operating Procedure of December 2023, which permitted buffalo and bulbul bird fights during January. That SOP was found to be inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s landmark 2014 judgment in Animal Welfare Board of India vs A. Nagaraja, which banned animal spectacles involving cruelty.

Welcoming the ruling, PETA India’s senior policy and legal advisor Vikram Chandravanshi said the decision reinforces the principle of animal protection. “Subjecting terrified animals to bloody abuse for entertainment has no place in a modern society,” he stated.

The court’s directive makes clear that buffalo fights cannot be sanctioned under law and that any attempt to organise them will invite strict legal consequences.