SC Declines Urgent Hearing Of Plea Challenging MCD Notification On Picking Of Stray Dogs

The Supreme Court on Thursday declines to urgently list a plea challenging a notification issued by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) regarding the pickup and relocation of stray dogs.

A bench comprising Justices J K Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi declined the request for early hearing when a lawyer mentioned that an application had been filed in the matter.

The application argued that the MCD had issued the notification despite the apex court already reserving its order on the issue.

Earlier Observations By The Court

On August 14, a 3-judge bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N V Anjaria had reserved its order on an interim prayer seeking a stay on the August 11 directions of the Supreme Court. During the hearing, the court had observed that the stray dog menace in Delhi-NCR was largely due to the “inaction” of local authorities.

The controversy stems from an August 11 order passed by a separate 2-judge bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan. In its directive, the bench instructed authorities in Delhi-NCR to immediately start picking up stray dogs from all localities and shift them to designated shelters.

The bench further directed that:

Stray dogs should be housed in shelters and not released back into public spaces.

Authorities must establish adequate shelter homes within eight weeks.

Compliance reports on the creation of such infrastructure must be submitted to the court.

The directions were issued in response to rising cases of stray dog attacks, particularly those resulting in rabies infections among children.

Background Of The Case

Court had taken suo motu cognizance of the stray dog problem on July 28 following several reports of dog bite incidents in the national capital region. The court had then sought measures to prevent such attacks and ensure public safety.

While the matter was under consideration before a 3-judge bench, the MCD issued its notification to implement the August 11 order, prompting the fresh plea challenging the move.

With the plea not finding urgency for early listing, the matter is expected to be heard as per the court’s schedule. The reserved order of the three-judge bench remains awaited and is likely to decide the scope and implementation of the August 11 directions.

For now, the MCD notification stands, and local authorities remain bound by the directive to pick up and shelter stray dogs across Delhi-NCR.

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