Supreme Court orders release of vaccinated stray dogs, except rabid or aggressive ones, across India

New Delhi (India) August 22: Animal lovers celebrate the Supreme Court's decision on Friday. It changes its controversial August 8 ruling on stray dogs in Delhi.

Vaccination and release ordered

The court orders their release to the same location after vaccination and deworming. However, the top court orders that dogs with aggressive behavior or rabies must be vaccinated and live in separate shelters.

The court says, “Prohibition on release of strays shall be stayed. They should be dewormed, vaccinated and sent back to the same area." 

The three-judge panel includes Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria. They also order a number of other changes to the August 8 judgment. They instruct Delhi-NCR civic agencies to collect stray canines within eight weeks and place them in shelters.

Justice Naths says, “It is still an interim direction. We have expanded the scope pan-India and have issued notices to all states and UTs, notices to concerned departments, since there are various similar matters pending before this court so that a national policy could be framed to deal with the issue. We have suggested some modifications in the previous order” regarding the ruling. 

Court revises earlier ruling

The bench declares that it will transfer similar petitions that are now pending before various high courts to itself. This is in order to develop a unified national policy for managing stray dogs. It also impleades all states and Union territories as parties.

After the Justice Pardiwala-led bench's decision cause much outrage, the Chief Justice makes the unusual decision to reassign the matter to the three-judge bench.

Public feeding of strays banned

Nonetheless, the highest court firmly upholds the prohibition against feeding stray dogs in public. They promise to take legal action against anybody who did so.

No public feeding of dogs is allowed. 

The court says, “Dedicated feeding spaces of stray dogs to be created. Action will be taken against persons found to be feeding dogs on the streets." 

The court also permits animal lovers to submit applications for the dogs' adoption. It comes with the disclaimer that it will be their duty to make sure the strays are not put back on the streets.

Additionally, the court orders the NGOs that approach it and each individual petitioner to deposit Rs 2 lakh and Rs 25,000, respectively.

The issue takes priority in Delhi NCR. This happens after the Justice Pardiwala-led court orders the city authorities in Delhi-NCR to detain all stray dogs and keep them in shelters till they are released back into the streets. It also generates a lot of conversation on social media.

Additionally, the civic authorities were instructed to set up shelters that could accommodate at least 5,000 strays in a span of eight weeks.