Stray dogs menace: Not directed removal of every dog from streets, says SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday clarified that it had not directed the removal of every dog from the streets, and the direction was to treat these stray canines according to the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules.

The Supreme Court on Thursday clarified that it had not directed the removal of every dog from the streets, and the direction was to treat these stray canines according to the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules. A three-judge special bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria said, "We have not directed the removal of every dog from the streets. The direction is to treat them as per the rules."

The apex court also said that dogs can smell people who are either afraid of them or have suffered a dog bite, and they attack such persons. Today, it heard detailed arguments in the suo motu case it initiated on the issue of stray dogs in public places.

The hearing in the case will continue on Friday. The bench heard submissions of lawyers, including senior advocates Shyam Divan, Sidharth Luthra, CU Singh, Krishnan Venugopal, Dhruv Mehta, Gopal Sankaranarayanan, and Karuna Nundy.

Senior advocate argued that when there is an abrupt removal of dogs, rodent populations shoot up and leading to unintended consequences. When dogs are housed in shelters in a crowded environment, it leads to the spread of other diseases, the bench added. Senior advocate Nakul Dewan said that dogs should be microchipped for a record of vaccinations, sterilisation and other benefits and called for setting up an expert committee for examination of the issues involved.

"It is necessary to constitute an expert committee. This is not a problem that can be eliminated in a day. We need to decelerate the growth of community dogs," he said. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for PETA, called for the constitution of an expert committee to examine the issues and submitted that when dogs are housed in kennels, it leads to cruelty, as they are usually kept in a very congested cage.

At the fag end of the hearing, the bench referred to a report published in the Times of India on December 29, 2025, titled "On the roof of the world, feral dogs hunt down Ladakh's rare species", and said the lawyers should go through the report and come prepared on that on Friday. On November 7, the three-judge bench, while taking into consideration the "alarming rise of dog bite incidents", ordered all states and Union Territories (UTs) to ensure the removal of all stray dogs from every educational institution, hospital, public sports complexes, bus stands, railway stations, etc.

It said all these institutions and places must be fenced properly to prevent the entry of stray dogs. The stray dogs should not be released to the same spot from which they were picked up, ordered the bench. It had also said that permitting their return would "frustrate the very purpose" of securing such premises and addressing public safety concerns.

It will be the responsibility of the concerned local government institutions to pick up stray dogs from such institutions/areas, and shift them to designated dog shelters after vaccination and sterilisation in accordance with the Animal Birth Control Rules, the apex court had ordered. The apex court order had come on a suo moto cognisance it took of menace of stray dogs across the country. (ANI)

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