New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Friday, modified its earlier order on strays in Delhi-NCR, clarifying that the animals will be captured, vaccinated, sterilised, and then released in the same area they were picked up from.
Aggressive dogs, or those with rabies, will not be released back though.
The Bench of Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan had, on August 11, ordered all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR to be moved to shelters within eight weeks, taking note of the rising incidents of dog bites and cases of rabies. At least 37 lakh dog bites and 54 suspected rabies deaths were reported across the country in 2024, the government had informed.
The court had directed authorities to capture stray dogs from the streets and warned against any interference in the rounding-up exercise. The authorities were also asked to make shelters for at least 5,000 dogs in the first phase.
After countrywide protests from dog lovers, animal rights activists and celebrities, the Supreme Court decided to revisit the issue and had reserved its verdict earlier this week.
On Friday, the three-judge bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta, and Justice N V Anjaria, modified the earlier order and also expanded the scope of the issue by ordering that all similar matters be transferred to the top court for a final national policy.
“Municipal authorities shall comply with para 12, 12.1 and 12.2 of the earlier order. However, prohibition on release of strays shall be stayed. They shall be dewormed, vaccinated, etc, and sent back to the same area. Those dogs with aggressive behavior or with rabies shall be immunized and not released,” Justice Nath said.
The court also said that public feeding of stray dogs cannot be allowed under any condition and ordered civic bodies to create dedicated feeding areas in municipal wards. Those violating the order would face legal action, it has warned.
Persons found feeding stray dogs on streets, after designated areas are created, shall be liable to be proceeded with under relevant legal framework, the Court ordered.
Notice boards shall be placed near designated feeding areas mentioning that stray dogs shall only be fed in such areas. Such feeding areas shall be created by civic bodies keeping in view population and the concentration of stray dogs in a particular municipal ward, the Court directed.