Supreme Court reserves order on plea seeking stay on dogs relocation order

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on pleas seeking a stay of its August 11 order to remove all stray dogs from the localities in the Delhi-NCR region and put them in shelter homes.

A three-judge bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria said it will pass an interim order on the August 11 order of a different bench.

At the outset, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi government, said that there was a loud vocal minority and a silent suffering majority.

“In a democracy, there is a vocal majority and one who silently suffers. We have seen videos of people eating chicken, eggs, etc., and then claiming to be animal lovers. It is an issue to be resolved. Children are dying… Sterilisation does not stop rabies; even if you immunise them, that does not stop mutilation of children,” said the Solicitor General.

“World Health Organisation (WHO) data shows 305 deaths a year. Most children are in the 15-year-old age group. Nobody is an animal hater… Dogs do not have to be killed…they have to be separated. Parents cannot send children out to play. Young girls are mutilated”, he said.

The Solicitor General presented data before the apex court, saying 37 lakh dog bites were reported in the country in 2024, and rabies deaths were 305 for the same year, and most of the children are in the age group of 15. “WHO’s modelling shows a much higher number. Dogs do not have to be killed… they have to be separated. Parents cannot send children out to play. Nobody is an animal hater”, he said.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for an NGO, argued that the question is whether the municipal corporation has built shelter homes for dogs and if the dogs been sterilised. “Now dogs are picked up. But the order says once they are sterilised, do not leave them out in the community”, said Sibal while seeking a stay on the August 11 order of the two-judge bench order.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi also opposed the August 11 order, which asked authorities to put stray dogs in shelter homes, and said dog bites exist, but there have been zero rabies deaths in Delhi this year. “Of course, bites are bad, but you cannot create a horror situation like this”, he further said.

The bench also asked the local authorities about their stand on the implementation of the Animal Birth Control Rules. It said the whole problem is because of inaction by authorities in implementing the rules.

“Rules and laws are framed by Parliament, but they are not followed. Local authorities are not doing what they should be doing. On the one hand, humans are suffering, and on the other hand, animal lovers are here,” said Justice Nath.

On August 11, the top court ordered that all localities in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad should be made free of stray dogs and there should not be any compromise; it also made it clear that no captured animal will be released back on the streets.

In the detailed order it has clarified that its directive was not driven by “momentary impulse”; rather, it came after thorough and careful deliberation, and the concerned authorities have consistently failed for over two decades to effectively address a serious issue that directly impacts public safety.

A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and R Mahadev has said that it has decided to take the matter into its hands because of the systematic failure of the authorities over the past two decades to address an issue that strikes at the heart of public safety.

The bench has said that the directions given by it, as a court which functions for the welfare of the people, are both in the interest of humans as well as dogs, and “this is not personal”. (ANI)