The Supreme Court’s larger bench has reserved its order on stray dog removal in Delhi-NCR, defending earlier directions as necessary for public safety, amid sharp arguments over urgency, animal welfare, and alarming nationwide dog bite statistics.
The Supreme Court's larger three-judge bench on Thursday reserved its order on the removal of stray dogs from Delhi-NCR. The court said the stray dog crisis in Delhi-NCR was the direct result of years of inaction by local authorities. Hearing pleas against its August 11 order directing immediate removal of stray dogs to shelters, the three-judge bench led by Justice Vikram Nath noted that the problem had been allowed to grow unchecked. The court observed that despite repeated complaints and incidents, civic bodies had failed to implement effective measures for controlling the stray dog population. It added that this inaction had left the situation to reach a stage where urgent intervention was now unavoidable.
Rebuking the local authorities for their inaction against stray dog menace, SC said, "Parliament frames rules and laws, but are not implemented. Local authorities are not doing what they should be doing. They should be here taking responsibility." The three-judge bench of the top court comprising Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria along with Vikram Nath questioned how authorities had already begun picking up dogs before the earlier order was even made public.
Lawyers question urgency and handling of dogs
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal said that the earlier direction, which stressed there should be 'no lethargy' in removing stray dogs, should be stayed. He asked where the dogs would be taken once caught. Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s earlier comments had created 'pre-emptive prejudice' and noted that the government itself had said in Parliament there were zero dog bite cases in Delhi this year. Tushar Mehta, speaking for himself and not the government, countered that children could not safely play outside because of stray dogs, and urged the court to find a solution.
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Court defends its earlier decision
The Supreme Court, in its detailed order released on August 13, said its earlier directive on August 11 was not based on 'momentary impulse' but came after careful study. It noted that authorities had failed for more than two decades to address what it called a serious public safety issue. A separate bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan had earlier ordered that all localities in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and Faridabad should be made free of stray dogs, with no captured animal released back on the streets. The top court had said yesterday, “We have, over a considerable period of time, examined the prevailing circumstances, heard the voices of those who have been directly affected and reflected upon a disturbing pattern of dog bites in this country. Now is not the time for any resistance or hesitation born of complacency. It is a time for decisive and collective action and to confront the realities of our society. If we fail to act with urgency, we risk allowing yet another two decades to slip into the ledger of neglect, leaving future generations to inherit the same problems and the same dangers.”
SC on balancing human and animal welfare
The court stressed that its directions were in the interest of both people and dogs. It said the judiciary’s role was not to follow popular sentiment, but to uphold justice, conscience and fairness. It added that it had listened to those directly affected, studied a pattern of rising dog bite incidents, and decided urgent action was needed. "If we fail to act now, another two decades may pass with no change," the court observed. The court referred to official data showing 37,15,713 dog bite cases across India in 2024. Delhi alone recorded 25,201 cases. The court said this was a clear sign that authorities must act quickly and decisively.
(With ANI inputs)
