- The order on moving all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR to shelter homes had been passed by a two-judge bench
- The matter had been raised before the Chief Justice, who had assured a relook
- A three-judge bench will now hear the case
Hours after Chief Justice of India BR Gavai assured a relook at the two-judge bench order on moving all stray dogs in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) to shelter homes, the matter has been referred to a larger bench, which will hear the case on Thursday.
On the directions of Chief Justice Gavai, a three-judge bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria will take up the case.
The relocation had been ordered by a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan on Monday and the issue was raised before the Chief Justice on Wednesday. Seeking urgent listing, Advocate Nanita Sharma informed Justice Gavai that there had been two conflicting rulings on the issue by the Supreme Court and an earlier bench had asked for the implementation of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, which state that sterilised and vaccinated stray dogs should be returned to the same locality.
In its order on Monday, the bench of Justices Pardiwala and Mahadevan, taking note of the rising incidents of dog bites and attacks, had said all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR should be rounded up and moved to shelters within eight weeks. The dogs, the bench had said, should be kept at the shelters and not allowed to escape.
"We are not doing this for us, it is for the public interest. So, no sentiments of any nature should be involved. Action should be taken at the earliest... Pick up dogs from all localities and shift them to shelters. For the time being, forget the rules," Justice Pardiwala had said.
"All these animal activists, will they be able to bring back those who have fallen prey to rabies? We need to make streets absolutely free of stray dogs," the bench had remarked.
Infrastructure?
Animal activists, celebrities and even some political leaders had spoken out against the order, pointing out that Delhi and other cities in NCR, including Noida and Gurugram, did not have the infrastructure to execute the mass relocation, especially in such a short timeframe. Many also said that moving the dogs from their territories would just make room for others and that the answer lay in the effective implementation of the ABC Rules.
"You have three lakh dogs in Delhi. To get them all off the roads, you will have to make 3,000 pounds, each with drainage, water, a shed, a kitchen, and a watchman. That will cost about Rs 15,000 crore. Does Delhi have Rs 15,000 crore for this?" animal activist and former Union minister Maneka Gandhi had said.
"Within 48 hours, three lakh dogs will come from Ghaziabad, Faridabad because there's food in Delhi. And once you remove the dogs, monkeys will come on the ground... I have seen this happen at my own house. In Paris in the 1880s, when they removed dogs and cats, the city was overrun with rats," she added, calling dogs "rodent control animals".
Other Order
In the earlier order, the Supreme Court bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and JK Maheshwari had asked for the implementation of existing laws, including the ABC rules, and stressed that the issue should be dealt with compassion.
"We only hasten to add, that under all circumstances, there cannot be any indiscriminate killings of canines and the authorities have to take action in terms of the mandate and spirit of the prevalent legislation in place. There is no gainsaying in the fact that exhibiting compassion to all living beings is the enshrined Constitutional value and mandate and casts an obligation on the authorities to maintain," the bench had said.
