New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday modified its August 11 direction prohibiting release of stray dogs from dog shelters in Delhi-NCR, and said the picked up canines be sterilised, vaccinated and released back in the same area.
A three-judge special bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath made clear that this relocation shall not apply to dogs infected with rabies or suspected to be infected with rabies and those displaying aggressive behaviour.
The bench, also comprising Justices Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaraia, said the August 11 direction prohibiting the release of stray dogs from dog shelters shall be kept in abeyance for the time being.
The Supreme Court directed municipal authorities to create feeding areas, adding that there will be no feeding on streets. Notice boards shall be placed near designated feeding areas, mentioning that stray dogs shall only be fed in such areas, the Supreme Court said on Friday.
All states and UTs have been issued notices to appear in the matter and give suggestions for framing a national policy.
The Supreme Court order sparked outrage among animal lovers and welfare organisations.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked all dog lovers and NGOs who approached the court to deposit ₹25,000 and ₹2 lakh, respectively, for dog shelters.
A two-judge bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, on July 28, had taken suo motu cognisance of a news item.
On August 11, the two-judge bench passed directions to immediately make dog shelters and report on the creation of infrastructure all over Delhi-NCR within eight weeks and shift the stray dogs to those shelters.
The next day, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai withdrew the suo motu case on stray dogs from the earlier bench and shifted it to a three-judge bench.
The new bench, led by Justice Vikram Nath, took up the matter on August 14 and reserved its order on the interim prayer seeking a stay on the August 11 directions.
During the August 14 hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government, had said he has seen people posting videos of eating meat and then claiming to be animal lovers.
Backing the Supreme Court order, Tushar Mehta had said, “There is a very loud vocal minority and silent suffering majority.”
“Thirty-seven lakhs a year, 10,000 per day. This is a dog bite. Rabies deaths – 305 deaths for the same year, WHO’s modelling shows a much higher number,” LiveLaw quoted Tushar Mehta as saying.
Nobody is an animal hater, he added.
