 "The Supreme Court has allowed the release of street dogs from shelters after vaccination. AFP")
In a significant win for animal lovers, the Supreme Court has revised its August 11 order on the relocation of stray dogs in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) to shelters. On Friday (August 22), the top court said that the stray canines can be released from dog shelters after being dewormed and vaccinated.
The modified order came after its previous directions drew outrage from animal lovers, with the matter gaining national attention. The next hearing in the case has been set after eight weeks.
Let’s take a look.
Supreme Court modifies stray dogs order
In an interim order on Friday, the top court allowed the release of stray dogs to the localities where they were picked up from after sterilisation, deworming, and vaccination.
“Prohibition on release of strays shall be stayed. They shall be dewormed, vaccinated, etc and sent back to the same area,” the court said, as per Bar and Bench.
A three-judge Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria clarified that the updated order will not apply to dogs infected or suspected to be infected with rabies, and exhibiting aggressive behaviour.
The court said that such dogs should be sterilised and immunised, but not released into public spaces from dog shelters. “Furthermore, as far as possible, such stray dogs shall be kept in a separate pound shelter after sterilisation and immunisation,” the bench said.
The apex court also prohibited public feeding of stray dogs, directing municipal authorities to create dedicated feeding spaces for these canines in each municipal ward.
“No public feeding of dogs allowed. Dedicated feeding spaces of stray dogs to be created. There have been instances due to such feeding instances,” the bench said in its order.
“Notice boards shall be placed near such designated feeding areas mentioning that stray dogs shall only be fed in such areas,” it added.
The court warned that any person found feeding dogs on the streets “shall be liable to be proceeded against under the relevant legal framework”.
“The aforesaid directions are being issued in view of the reports regarding untoward incidents caused by unregulated feeding of stray dogs, and to ensure that the practice of feeding dogs on roads and in public places is eliminated, as this creates great difficulties for the common man walking on the streets,” Indian Express cited the court order.
The court said animal lovers can contact municipal bodies to adopt street dogs.
“The desirous animal lovers shall be free to move an application with the concerned municipal body for adoption of the street dogs, upon which the identified street dogs shall be tagged and given in adoption to the applicant. It shall be the duty of those adopting to ensure that the adopted dog does not return to the streets.”
The bench also enhanced the scope of the matter by impleading all states and union territories (UTs) as parties to the case. The matter was previously limited to Delhi-NCR.
It also transferred all similar petitions pending before various High Courts to itself.
The apex court said it will formulate a national policy after hearing the case in detail.
It said its previous direct directions to animal rights activists against obstructing the work of municipal bodies will stand.
Today’s order comes after animal lovers and activists filed an appeal against the August 11 order of the apex court, which included permanent relocation of stray dogs to shelters.
What was the August 11 order?
On August 11, the Supreme Court passed its order in a suo motu case , directing the Delhi government, civic bodies and authorities of Noida, Gurgaon, and Ghaziabad to round up stray dogs and relocate them to shelters.
A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan ordered the establishment of dog shelters with an initial capacity of at least 5,000 canines within eight weeks.
The apex court also asked authorities to install CCTV in such centres to ensure no animals are released back onto the streets.
It warned that any person or organisation that obstructs the move will face strict action. The order came amid a rise in dog bites and cases of rabies.
The bench also directed creating a helpline within a week to report dog bites and capturing these canines involved in attacks within four hours of a complaint. It also told authorities to publish monthly rabies vaccination and treatment data. Any obstruction to the exercise was to be considered contempt of court.
The order had sparked widespread outrage among animal lovers, with many terming it “inhumane”.
The matter was later reassigned by Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai to a three-judge Bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath. The larger bench heard the matter on August 14, before reserving orders.
Reactions to SC’s modified order
Animal rights activist and BJP leader Maneka Gandhi , who spoke against the earlier order, has welcomed the Friday directions.
Speaking to ANI, she said, “I am very happy with this scientific judgement. Relocation and fear are the primary reasons dogs bite. There is no question of releasing dogs infected with Rabies. The court has not defined what an aggressive dog is. This needs to be defined.”
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has also hailed the apex court’s modified order as a “progressive step toward balancing animal welfare and public safety.”
BJP leader Vijay Goel raised concerns about dog bites. He told CNN-News18_,_ “If these hundreds of stray dogs are released again and they end up biting people, will the Supreme Court take responsibility for that?”
Delhi Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh also welcomed the Supreme Court verdict. “This is a very good decision, and we will implement it 100 per cent. The dog lovers and the NGOs also wanted the dogs to be sterilised and left. The corporation already did the same,” he said to ANI.
“Ferocious and aggressive dogs that have developed the habit of biting should be treated and kept. The public should not face any problem. We all love street dogs and we are all dog lovers, so this is a very good decision,” Singh added.
With inputs from agencies