SC Orders Removal Of All Stray Dogs From Delhi-NCR Within 8 Weeks, Animal Welfare Advocate Raises Objections

Supreme Court of India

In a significant step to curb stray dog attacks in the national capital, the Supreme Court on Monday directed the Delhi Government, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to remove all stray dogs from Delhi-NCR streets within eight weeks and shift them to designated shelters.

A bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan issued a series of strict directions, including the creation of well-equipped dog shelters with adequate staff to sterilise and immunise the captured animals.

The court ordered that no dog kept in such shelters shall be released back into the streets. CCTV cameras must be installed in all shelters to ensure compliance.

The court instructed that the process should begin with vulnerable localities most prone to dog attacks. It also permitted authorities to form a special force, if required, to carry out the task swiftly.

A helpline is to be set up within one week to report dog bite incidents, and dogs must be rounded up within four hours of a complaint.

Any individual or organisation obstructing this process will face strict action, including contempt proceedings.

The bench took suo motu cognisance of the issue on July 29 after reading a media reports on the tragic death of a six-year-old Delhi girl due to rabies following a dog bite.

Calling the situation ‘alarming and disturbing,’ the court criticised the existing Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules that require sterilised dogs to be released back into their locality.

Earlier on July 15, the top court during a hearing on feeding stray dogs in public spaces in Noida.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta had questioned whether public roads and lanes should be left open for stray animals at the cost of human safety.

Advocate Jasmine Damkewala, an advocate-on-record in the Supreme Court and an impleader in the case representing the animal welfare organisation All Creatures Great and Small, told iTV Network that the decision was ‘sudden’ and passed without granting all stakeholders a fair opportunity to be heard.

Damkewala said, ‘This was not a petition initiated by an animal lover; it was a suo motu action triggered by unverified media reports. In reality, only the government and the court-appointed amicus were substantially heard.’

According to Damkewala, the order runs counter to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act as well as earlier Supreme Court rulings that upheld the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023.

These rules require that sterilised dogs be returned to their original location to live out their natural lives, rather than being permanently confined to shelters.

She said that many municipal sterilisation units in Delhi are non-functional, and that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi often relies on NGOs for limited sterilisation work.

She said: ‘Dogs are not meant to live in cages. Locking them up will make them aggressive and kill them. The humane and practical solution is to sterilise and vaccinate them, not remove them from their birthplace.’