SC Reserves Order On Pleas Against Delhi-NCR Stray Dog Relocation Directive

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court — Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria on Thursday (14 August) heard the ongoing suo motu case on stray dogs, days after a two-judge bench ordered their removal from Delhi-NCR to shelter homes.

The matter was shifted following submissions to the Chief Justice that the 11 August directions conflicted with previous rulings.

By the end of the hearing, the court reserved its order on the pleas to stay the directions, LiveLaw reported.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Delhi Government, emphasised the public safety risk, stating that “sterilisation does not stop rabies” and citing WHO data of 20,000 annual rabies deaths.

"I have seen people posting videos of eating meat and then claiming to be animal lovers," SG said.

He said 37 lakh dog bites occur each year “about 10,000 dog bites every day” and argued for separating strays from public spaces.

Countering this, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, for Project Kindness, stressed compliance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, accusing municipal bodies of failing to build shelters or sterilise adequately.

He sought a stay on parts of the 11 August order, warning overcrowded shelters could cause “pestilence” and harm humans.

Senior lawyers Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Siddharth Dave, Aman Lekhhi, Colin Gonsalves, and Krishnan Venugopal argued the directions ignored earlier Supreme Court rulings, relied on anecdotal accounts, and overlooked capacity limits with Delhi-NCR’s 1 million stray dogs facing shelter space for only 1,000.

Justice Mehta questioned the lack of hard evidence from the interventionists, while Justice Nath criticised municipal inaction, saying, “Local authorities are not doing what they should be doing.”

He further directed all intervention parties to submit affidavits supported by evidence to substantiate their claims.

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