Supreme Court raps states over stray-dog menace, says India’s image hurt, summons top officials

Dubai: India’s Supreme Court on Monday came down heavily on state governments and union territories for failing to comply with its August 22 order to catch, sterilise and release stray dogs — warning that the growing menace was tarnishing India’s image abroad.

A three-judge bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice N.V. Anjaria expressed anger that despite being given two months, most states had not filed affidavits confirming compliance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules.

Only West Bengal, Telangana and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had submitted replies — and even those were not on record since they were filed during the Diwali break, according to NDTV.

“Yet no reply from state governments! Your country is being portrayed in a bad light internationally!” the bench said, directing the Chief Secretaries of all remaining states and Union Territories to appear personally before the court on November 3 to explain the delay.

The court also demanded the presence of the Delhi Chief Secretary, noting that while the MCD had responded, the Delhi government had not.

“Don’t you read newspapers? The order passed on August 22 was widely reported,” the court remarked, as quoted by NDTV. Justice Nath added, “Continuous incidents are happening, and the image of the country is being shown as down in the eyes of foreign nations,” according to The Times of India.

When a lawyer pointed to instances of cruelty towards animals, the court shot back, “What about cruelty towards humans?”

Recent attacks

The court referred to several recent stray dog attacks — including in Pune and Bhandara in Maharashtra, Kannur in Kerala, Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, and Warangal in Telangana. In one case, a man performing in a street play about stray dogs was himself attacked during the act.

Under the Supreme Court’s August 22 order, stray dogs must be released back into their localities only after sterilisation and immunisation, except for those infected with rabies or showing aggressive behaviour. The ruling modified an earlier order that had called for rounding up all stray dogs in the Delhi-NCR region.

As per NDTV, some states have begun implementing the directions. Rajasthan has instructed all municipal bodies to identify feeding points and coordinate with resident and animal welfare associations.

In Noida, officials launched a survey to map and monitor the dog population, while the Greater Chennai Corporation said it had vaccinated over 46,000 dogs and microchipped 12,000 by mid-September.

Calling the continued inaction of most states “unacceptable,” the bench said the “menace of stray dogs continues despite repeated directions” and that accountability would now rest directly with state administrations.