SC relaxes ‘too harsh’ directions on stray dogs, prohibits public feeding

The Supreme Court on Friday relaxed its earlier sweeping directions on stray dog management in the Delhi-NCR region, observing that a complete prohibition on releasing treated and vaccinated dogs appeared "too harsh". 

While acknowledging the "salutary intent" of its earlier order, the three-judge bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N.V. Anjaria stressed that "a blanket direction to pick up all the strays and place them in dog shelters/pounds without evaluating the existing infrastructure may lead to a catch-22 situation because such directions may be impossible to comply with".

Adopting a “holistic approach”, the Justice Vikram Nath-led Bench, which reserved its decision last week in the suo motu case titled "In Re: City Hounded by Strays, Kids Pay Price”, opined that sterilised, dewormed, and vaccinated dogs should be released back to their original localities, in line with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023.

However, it clarified that "dogs infected with rabies or suspected to be infected with rabies, and those that display aggressive behaviour… under no circumstances should… be released back onto the streets".

The Justice Nath-led Bench stressed on regulation of the feeding practices of stray dogs and directed municipal bodies to designate feeding zones in each ward, with notice boards.

"Under no condition shall the feeding of stray dogs on the streets be permitted. The persons found feeding the dogs on the streets in contravention of the above directions shall be liable to be proceeded against under the relevant legal framework," the apex court said.

It further directed municipal authorities to create a dedicated helpline for reporting violations of the above directions, and said that upon receiving such reports, appropriate action shall be taken against the individuals or NGOs concerned.

The apex court made it clear that no individual or organisation can obstruct the implementation of its directions, warning that anyone preventing public servants from carrying out these orders will face prosecution.

The top court allowed liberty to animal lovers to apply to the municipal body concerned to adopt street dogs, which will then be tagged and handed over to them. It added that adopters will be responsible for ensuring the adopted dogs do not return to the streets.

The Justice Vikram Nath-led Bench directed individual dog lovers and NGOs that approached the top court to deposit Rs 25,000 and Rs 2 lakh, respectively, with its Registry within seven days, failing which they will not be allowed to appear in the case.

"The amounts so deposited shall be utilised in the creation of the infrastructure and facilities for the stray dogs under the aegis of the respective municipal bodies," it added.

It further directed all states and Union Territories to report compliance with the ABC Rules, along with complete statistics on resources such as dog pounds, veterinarians, dog-catching personnel, and specially modified vehicles or cages. Expanding the scope of the matter nationwide, the Supreme Court impleaded all states and Union Territories through their Animal Husbandry Secretaries, Local Bodies Secretaries, and UT Administrators to seek details on steps taken to comply with the ABC Rules.

Noting that several writ and suo motu petitions on similar issues are pending before various High Courts, the bench directed the apex court registry to seek details of such cases from the Registrars General of all High Courts, after which they will be transferred to the Supreme Court for uniform consideration.

The matter will be taken up again after eight weeks for compliance reports from civic authorities and state governments.

Earlier, a two-judge Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan had directed municipal bodies across Delhi-NCR to immediately capture all stray dogs and relocate them to shelters, sparking an uproar from several quarters of society.

Picture Courtesy: IANS