SC Order On Stray Dogs Removal From Delhi-NCR Streets; India's Response To Asim Munir's 'Nuclear Rant'; And More

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Supreme Court Orders Immediate Removal of All Stray Dogs from Delhi-NCR Streets

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a sweeping directive ordering all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR to be shifted away from residential localities, warning that any organization blocking this exercise will face "the strictest action."

The landmark order by the bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan comes amid rising dog bite incidents leading to rabies deaths in the national capital. The court acted after taking note of news reports highlighting the increasing stray dog attacks that have injured children and elderly residents, with some cases proving fatal.

Justice Pardiwala emphasized the public interest nature of the order, stating: "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." The court declared it would hear arguments only from the Centre and rejected any petitions from dog lovers or animal rights groups.

"Pick up dogs from all localities and shift them to shelters. For the time being, forget the rules," Justice Pardiwala told the amicus curiae, dismissing concerns from animal activists who had previously stalled relocation plans.

Civic authorities across Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Gurugram have been directed to immediately build shelters with professional staff for sterilization and immunization. The court mandated CCTV installation to prevent escapes and ordered the establishment of a helpline for reporting dog bite cases.

The Delhi government assured timely implementation of the court's directive, which affects thousands of stray dogs across the sprawling NCR region.

(Last month, Swarajya had published an article exploring how advisory bodies on animal rights were behaving virtually like neighbourhood strongmen and why genuine dog lovers should be horrified at India’s stray dog crisis). 

India Condemns Pakistan Army Chief's Nuclear Threats Made During US Visit

The Ministry of External Affairs strongly condemned Pakistani Army Chief ‘Field Marshal’ Asim Munir's nuclear threats made during his visit to the United States, describing them as "irresponsible" nuclear sabre-rattling that raises serious questions about Pakistan's command and control systems.

In an official statement, MEA spokesperson termed the threatening remarks as Pakistan's "stock-in-trade," emphasizing that such statements reinforce international doubts about nuclear security in a state where "the military is hand-in-glove with terrorist groups."

"The international community can draw its own conclusions on the irresponsibility inherent in such remarks, which also reinforce the well-held doubts about the integrity of [Pakistan’s] nuclear command and control," the statement read.

India expressed particular regret that such inflammatory comments were made "from the soil of a friendly third country," referring to Munir's statements during his Washington visit.

The Ministry reiterated India's established position on nuclear coercion, stating: "India has already made it clear that it will not give in to nuclear blackmail." 

The statement comes after Munir reportedly threatened that Pakistan would "take half the world down" if it faced an existential threat, while also issuing specific threats against Indian projects related to the Indus river.

Other developments

U.S.: No Higher Tariffs On China For Another 90 Days

As per a report in a business news portal, U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order extending the suspension of higher tariffs on Chinese imports for another 90 days, just hours before the midnight deadline for the current pause was set to expire.

Without this move, American tariffs on Chinese goods would have reverted to the elevated levels imposed in April, when tensions between the world's two largest economies reached their peak.

Washington and Beijing initially agreed to the 90-day tariff suspension in May following meetings in Geneva, with that agreement scheduled to lapse on Tuesday. 

Trump's approach to China reveals a stark contrast in US trade strategy. He extends an olive branch to China through repeated tariff suspensions and negotiations, while simultaneously imposing a total of 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods over purchase of Russian oil. 

Sitharaman Presents Revised Income Tax Bill 2025 to Replace 63-Year-Old Act 

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday presented the revised Income Tax (No. 2) Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha, seeking to replace the archaic Income Tax Act of 1961 with a simplified framework. 

The government withdrew the earlier version on Friday to incorporate recommendations from a 31-member parliamentary committee chaired by BJP MP Baijayant Panda, which submitted 566 suggestions in a 4,584-page report.

The new Bill dramatically streamlines the 1961 Act, which has been amended over 4,000 times. Key changes include reducing sections from 819 to 536, replacing "Previous Year" and "Assessment Year" with a single "Tax Year," and introducing taxpayer-friendly measures like allowing refunds for late returns, reintroducing Section 80M deduction for inter-corporate dividends, and extending home loan interest deduction to rented properties.

Police Detain Rahul Gandhi, Opposition MPs During March to Election Commission

Delhi Police on Monday detained several INDIA alliance MPs, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, as they attempted to march from Parliament House to the Election Commission of India headquarters to protest alleged irregularities in Bihar's electoral roll revision.

The protest, led by Gandhi, began from Makar Dwar but was halted by police barricades near Parliament. TMC's Mahua Moitra and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav attempted to scale the barricades, while Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and other leaders staged a sit-in demonstration.

The opposition parties were protesting against the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, alleging large-scale poll irregularities in the process that commenced on August 1.

Following the protest, the Election Commission agreed to meet a Congress delegation at noon after the party formally requested an appointment. However, the ECI's daily bulletin revealed that neither Congress nor any other political party has filed formal objections to the ongoing voter list correction process in Bihar, despite their public protests.

Karnataka Cooperation Minister Rajanna Sacked After ‘Admission’ On Vote Theft

Karnataka Cooperation Minister K.N. Rajanna was dismissed from the state cabinet on Sunday. The dismissal followed his remark over the weekend that electoral irregularities occurred during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections under the Congress government's watch and that the time to raise objections was earlier. “When the draft electoral rolls are made, we must file objections — that is our responsibility. At that time, we kept quiet and now we are talking” Rajanna said.

Source-based reports claimed that Rajanna’s dismissal came after direct intervention from Rahul Gandhi, with the Raebareli MP reportedly telling Chief Minister Siddaramaiah: "I am not talking about his resignation, sack him."

It was AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, who reportedly called Siddaramaiah first, expressing the party’s displeasure over the "Rajanna episode", and asking that Rajanna be dismissed. 

When the Karnataka CM initially sought a 10-day delay citing the ongoing assembly session, Venugopal directed him to speak directly with Rahul Gandhi. 

By 1 pm, Rajanna was informed of his dismissal, with the CM subsequently writing to the Governor recommending his removal.

Speaking in Tumkuru on Saturday, Rajanna had questioned why Congress leaders "turned a blind eye" to voter list irregularities during their tenure. "These irregularities did take place — that's the truth," he had stated. He specifically mentioned Mahadevapura constituency fraud, where "one person was registered in three different places and voted in all three."

The minister's comments came just days after Gandhi staged a protest against alleged "vote theft" in Bengaluru on August 8, and held a press conference to repeat his allegations. 

You’re all caught up—until next time.