Supreme Court Summons Chief Secretaries of States Over Stray Dog Menace
The Supreme Court has directed the Chief Secretaries of all States, except West Bengal, Delhi, and Telangana, to personally appear before it for failing to submit compliance affidavits in the ongoing suo motu case concerning the stray dog menace.
A Bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria issued the directive, warning that if the officials fail to appear on the next hearing date, the Court will impose costs or take coercive steps. The matter will now be heard on November 3, with the Court indicating that it may even hold the proceedings in an auditorium to accommodate all officers.
The Bench expressed strong displeasure, noting,
“Didn’t the officers read newspapers or social media? Even if they were not formally served, they should have been here.”
The Court pointed out that despite its previous directions, only West Bengal, Delhi, and Telangana had filed affidavits confirming compliance with the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023. It also observed that incidents involving stray dogs continue to occur across the country, tarnishing India’s image internationally.
Justice Nath remarked,
“Continuous incidents are happening and the image of the country is being shown as down in the eyes of foreign nations.”
When a lawyer raised the issue of cruelty against dogs, the Court retorted,
“What about the cruelty towards humans?”
The Bench further cautioned against the growing number of intervention applications in the case, stating,
“If every RWA wants to be a party, how many crores of parties will we have before us? Suggestions should be reasonable.”
The issue gained national attention after a Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, on August 11, ordered Delhi’s municipal authorities to begin rounding up stray dogs from all localities and to set up shelters with an initial capacity of 5,000 dogs. The order prohibited their re-release and mandated sterilisation, vaccination, and medical care, while also criticising animal activists for “virtue signalling.”
Following public backlash, the matter was reassigned to the current Bench, which on August 22 modified the earlier order. The Court allowed vaccinated and dewormed dogs to be released back into their areas and expanded the scope of the case to cover all States and Union Territories. It also transferred similar cases pending before various High Courts to itself, making it a pan-India issue.
