Stray Dog Case: Supreme Court Three-Judge Bench Reserves Order

The Supreme Court-appointed three-judge bench has reserved an order on the stray dogs case, which has seen Indians voice their opinions strongly on both sides of the argument. "Order reserved on interim prayer seeking stay of suo motu order," noted the apex court in its first hearing today.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria heard the matter in the morning, after the Aug. 11 order led to a huge uproar from animal lovers and organisations. The Chief Justice of India BR Gavai assured a relook into the case on moving all stray dogs in the National Capital Region to shelter homes.

The three-judge bench asked why authorities in several areas started picking up the animals even before the earlier order became public.

On Aug. 11, the top court observed instances of dog bites had given rise to an "extremely grim" situation and ordered the permanent relocation of all strays in the National Capital Region "at the earliest".

"Children are dying. Sterilisation does not stop rabies," said Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi government. He pointed out stray dog attacks on children, leading to injury and rabies deaths.

Mehta argued that "no one hates animals". "There are four poisonous species among 100. We don't keep them at home. Dogs do not have to be killed; they have to be separated," he said, citing government data of 37 lakh dog bite cases last year. "Parents cannot send their children out to play. Young girls are mutilated," he argued. The solution, Mehta said, is not in the rules. "The court has to intervene."

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for an animal rights body, said, "There are no shelters. The question is, has the municipal corporation built shelter homes? Now, dogs are picked up. This needs to be argued in depth. Let the suo motu order be stayed," he said.