NEW DELHI, Aug. 22 — The Supreme Court on Friday modified its August 11 order directing the immediate relocation of stray dogs in Delhi-NCR to shelters, allowing sterilised and vaccinated dogs to be released back into the same areas.
“No prohibition on release of stray dogs shall operate. They shall be dewormed, vaccinated, and sent back to their original locations,” the three-judge bench, headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and including Justices Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria, said.
The Bench clarified that the previous order mandating the rounding up of stray dogs will continue, but dogs displaying aggressive behavior or infected with rabies will not be released. Additionally, public feeding of dogs has been banned. “No public feeding of dogs allowed. Dedicated feeding spaces for stray dogs must be created,” Justice Kaul said, citing incidents caused by unregulated feeding.
Expanding the scope of the suo motu PIL, the top court transferred all stray dog-related cases pending in various high courts to itself and issued notices to all states through their Animal Husbandry Secretaries. The Bench indicated it would formulate a national policy on stray dogs after hearing all states. “All similar matters shall be transferred to this court for a final national policy,” it said.
The court also ordered individual petitioners and NGOs involved in the matter to deposit Rs 25,000 and Rs 2 lakh each, respectively, to fund the creation of dog shelters.
Reserving its order on August 14, the Bench had noted, “The whole problem is because of the inaction of local authorities. Rules are framed, but no implementation carried out, creating the present situation. Humans are suffering, while animal lovers want dogs protected.”
The August 11 directions, issued by a Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan in a case titled “City Hounded by Strays, Kids Pay Price”, had called for the permanent relocation of canines from streets to shelters. The order had emphasised co-existence, stating, “The idea behind co-existence is not the existence of one life at the cost of another.”
The court had also highlighted attacks on vulnerable groups, including visually impaired persons, children, the elderly, and economically disadvantaged individuals, adding, “All these animal activists… will they bring back the children who have fallen prey to rabies? When the situation demands, practical action must be taken.”
The matter was assigned to the three-judge Bench on August 13 after lawyers flagged conflicts between the August 11 directions, earlier orders, and statutory provisions.
