Stray dogs case: SC slams states for not filing action-taken reports, says country's image has taken a hit

The Supreme Court on Monday directed Chief Secretaries of all States, except West Bengal, Delhi, and Telangana, to appear before it for failing to submit compliance reports in the case concerning stray dogs. The Court warned that strict action will be taken if the officers do not appear on the next hearing date, November 3.

The Supreme Court bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria expressed strong displeasure at States that have not submitted affidavits on the implementation of the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023. So far, only West Bengal, Delhi, and Telangana have complied.

The bench observed that the officers should have been aware of the case through media coverage.

“Didn’t the officers read newspapers or social media? Haven’t they read... even if they are not served they should have been here. All Chief Secretaries to be present here on Nov 3 ... We will hold court in auditorium,” the bench said.

‘Country being shown down’ 

The bench warned that if the Chief Secretaries fail to appear, the Court will impose costs or take coercive measures. Justice Vikram Nath said, “Continuous incidents are happening and the image of the country is being shown as down in the eyes of foreign nations. We are also reading news reports.”

When a counsel mentioned cruelty against dogs, the Court responded, “What about the cruelty towards humans?” The Court also expressed concern over the increasing number of people and organisations wanting to intervene in the case.

“Also if all RWA wants to be party... how many crores of parties we will have here before us. Make suggestions which are reasonable,” the bench stated.

What is the stray dogs case? 

This comes after a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, on August 11, directed Delhi’s municipal authorities to begin rounding up stray dogs from all areas and build shelters with a capacity of at least 5,000 dogs within eight weeks.

That order prohibited releasing sterilised dogs back onto the streets and required shelters to have CCTV cameras, adequate staff, food, and medical facilities. It also criticised “virtue signalling” by animal activists, sparking protests from animal rights groups.

Later, the matter was assigned to a new bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath, which on August 22 modified the earlier order. The Court allowed the release of vaccinated and dewormed dogs and expanded the case to cover the entire country, transferring similar petitions from High Courts to the Supreme Court.