The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld its November 7 order on the removal of stray dogs, rejecting all petitions filed by dog lovers and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) seeking modifications to the court's decision.
The Supreme Court said it cannot overlook the incidents of dog bites, including cases of children being mauled.
A Lesson On Animal Birth Control
During the hearing, the court referred to the Animal Birth Control (ABC) framework introduced in 2001 and "gross inaction" in effective implementation of it. The court noted that the problem has been exacerbated due to a lack of effort in scaling up resources to keep pace with the growing population of dogs.
Sterilisation and vaccination drives have been conducted without proper planning. Consequently, the objective of the framework remains unfulfilled, the Court observed.
"Had the states acted with due foresight, the current situation would not have assumed such alarming proportions," the top court said.
Also Read | "Can't Ignore Dog Bites": Top Court Says Strays To Be Removed From Streets
What Top Court Said
Noting that "stray dog bites continue to occur," the court read out the number of dog bite incidents and said:
- In the city of Sri Ganga Nagar in Rajasthan alone, 1,084 dog bites were reported in a month. Young children suffered grievous injuries, including mauling of their faces according to reports.
- Tamil Nadu recorded two lakh cases in the first four months of the year.
- The State cannot remain a silent spectator in such matters. Even international travelers have fallen victim to dog attacks.
- The Right to live with dignity also includes the right to live freely without the fear of harm resulting from dog bite attacks.
- The state cannot remain a silent spectator.
- The court cannot remain oblivious to harsh ground realities where children, international travellers, and elderly have fallen victim to dog bite incidents.
- The constitution doesn't envisage a society where children, elderly people are to survive on the mercy of physical strength.
- Any failure to comply with the directives of this court, in any manner whatsoever, shall be viewed with utmost seriousness. In the event of non-compliance with these directives, proceedings for contempt of court, disciplinary action, and proceedings regarding tortious liability shall be initiated against the states.
Supreme Court Cites Darwin Theory Of Survival Of Fittest
The Supreme Court has sought a compliance report from state, centre, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and others by November 17, warning of contempt of court.
"If such conditions are permitted to continue unchecked, the inevitable consequence may lead to a regression towards the darwinian theory of evolution namely the survival of the fittest would effectively govern civic life in public spaces. Such a situation would be wholly incompatible with constitutional democracy governed by rule of law," the court said.
