Supreme Court Slams Authorities Over Stray Dog Menace, Reserves Order on Controversial August 11 Ruling

The Supreme Court on Thursday sharply criticized local authorities for their failure to tackle the stray dog crisis and reserved its order on petitions challenging its earlier directive to round up all stray dogs in the Delhi-NCR region.

“Parliament makes laws, but they are not being implemented. Local authorities aren’t fulfilling their responsibilities. They should be here taking accountability,” remarked a three-judge bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria.

However, the court did not stay the directions issued by a previous two-judge bench (Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan) on August 11, which had ordered civic bodies to capture and relocate all stray dogs to shelters within eight weeks. That decision sparked public outrage, prompting the Chief Justice of India to remove the case from the original bench.

On Thursday, the new bench said it would consider whether any urgent relief or stay was needed against the August 11 ruling. “On one side, humans are suffering, and on the other, animal lovers are making their voices heard,” the bench observed.

**Centre Supports August 11 Order**

Representing the Delhi government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta defended the controversial ruling, calling it a necessary step to protect public safety. He said a “loud, vocal minority” of animal rights activists was overshadowing the “silent, suffering majority.”

“I’ve seen people post videos of themselves eating meat and then claiming to be animal lovers,” Mehta said. He stressed that the government was not anti-animal but highlighted the dangers posed by stray dogs.

Citing World Health Organization data, Mehta said India sees around 305 rabies deaths annually, with most victims being children under 15. He added that nearly 3.7 million dog bites occur every year, averaging over 10,000 per day.

He also argued that sterilisation alone was not enough to prevent dog attacks. “Even if dogs are vaccinated, that doesn’t stop them from attacking or mutilating children. Dogs don’t have to be killed—but they do need to be separated. Parents can’t even send their kids out to play safely,” he said.

**Petitioners Push Back**

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the NGO Project Kindness, urged the court to pause the August 11 order. He argued that it contradicted the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, which require that stray dogs be sterilised, vaccinated, and then released back to their original location—not permanently relocated to shelters.

“This is the first time I’ve heard the Solicitor General say laws exist, but don’t need to be followed,” Sibal remarked. “Where are the shelters? Have the dogs even been sterilised? Funds have been siphoned off, and no facilities have been created.”

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi also appeared for the petitioners and criticised the ruling for putting “the horse before the cart.” He pointed out that there were no proper shelters available to house the animals as the order demanded.

“If shelters existed, this order wouldn’t be a problem,” Singhvi said, adding that government data shows zero rabies deaths in Delhi between 2022 and 2024. “Yes, dog bites are a serious issue, but we can’t turn this into a horror story.”

The court has reserved its decision on whether to grant interim relief or pause the August 11 ruling.