The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on pleas seeking a stay of its August 11 directive to remove all stray dogs from localities in the Delhi-NCR region and place them in shelter homes.
A three-judge bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta, and Justice 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 that needs to be resolved. Children are dying… Sterilisation does not stop rabies; even if you immunise them, that does not prevent the mutilation of children,” the Solicitor General said.
The Solicitor General presented data before the apex court, saying that 37 lakh dog bites were reported in the country in 2024, with 305 rabies deaths, mostly among children aged 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 stresse.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for an NGO, argued that the question is whether municipal corporations have built shelter homes for dogs and whether the dogs have been sterilised.
“Now dogs are being picked up, but the order says once they are sterilised, do not release them back into the community,” said Sibal while seeking a stay on the August 11 order of the two-judge bench.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi also opposed the August 11 order, which directed authorities to place 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 a concern, but you cannot create a horror situation like this,” he said.
The bench also asked the local authorities about their stand on the implementation of the Animal Birth Control Rules, noting that the problem stems from inaction in enforcing the rules.
“Rules and laws are framed by Parliament, but they are not followed. Local authorities are not doing what they should. On one hand, humans are suffering, and on the other, animal lovers are here,” said Justice Nath.
On August 11, the top court had ordered that all localities in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and Faridabad be made free of stray dogs and that no captured animals should be released back onto the streets.
The detailed order clarified that its directive was not driven by a “momentary impulse”; rather, it followed thorough deliberation, as the concerned authorities had consistently failed for over two decades to effectively address a serious public safety issue.
A bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan had said that it decided to take the matter into its own hands because of the systematic failure of authorities over the past two decades.
The bench noted that the directions given by the court, which functions for the welfare of the people, serve the interests of both humans and dogs, emphasising that “this is not personal.”
(ANI)