The Supreme Court has reserved its order on pleas challenging the August 11 order for ridding the streets of Delhi and the National Capital Region of all stray dogs and housing them in dog shelters to be maintained and operated by municipal bodies.
The bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice NV Anjaria did not grant a stay on the directions issued to municipal authorities.
Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central government, said sterilisation has not helped the control of rabies and even immunisation has not had an effect.
Also Read: What the August 11 order on stray dogs directed MCD and other municipal agencies
He said there is one vocal majority and another that silently suffers, referring to the outrage expressed by animal rights activists and dog lovers who have been shocked at the August 11 order’s reach and scope.
Mehta said WHO data showed 305 deaths a year and most victims were children under the age of 15. He said parents cannot send children out to play and young girls have been mutilated. The SG maintained that no one hates animals and that dogs do not have to be killed but separated. He said there was no solution under the existing rules.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for NGO Project Kindness, sought a stay of the August 11 order. He said it was strange to see the SG arguing that while laws are in place, they needn’t be followed. He asked if the municipal corporation has constructed dog shelters and have dogs been spayed. Sibal said corruption has ensured money allotted for shelters and sterilisation is being swindled since there are no shelters.
Noting that the orders are suo motu without issuance of notice, he said dogs are being picked up now and not being allowed to leave after sterilisation. He demanded that the matter be argued in depth.
Justice Nath then asked Sibal to show the part of the order that was offending. Sibal then said the operative part’s first point which said all dogs in Delhi-NCR have to be caught and moved to shelters which don’t exist. The court had directed the creation of shelters within eight weeks and where will the sterilised dogs after being spayed. They will end up being culled, he warned, adding that in dog shelters, the animals are cooped up together and food is thrown, leading them to attack each other over food.
This cannot be permitted, he argued. Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra said other states were also speeding up efforts to get rid of stray dogs in light of the order.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said all the directions are assumed but the infrastructure available is way less than the number of dogs to accommodate them. He said dog bites happen but one cannot create a horror story like this.
Other advocates spoke of people hospitalised due to dog bites and charged advocates against the order that they should take culpability of dog attacks when they occur.
Justice Nath said everyone, for and against, must file evidence to support their claims. Laws and rules framed by Parliament are not being implemented. The judge said humans are suffering and animal lovers are here to take up cudgels for animals.
The Bench went on to reserve its order on the interim prayers for stay.
The bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan had on August 11 directed the municipal authorities in Delhi and the NCR to catch and move stray dogs from all areas to shelters. The court had told the municipal agencies to set up shelters that can take in at least 5,000 dogs within eight weeks.
The order barred release of dogs back on the streets, made sterilisation, immunisation and de-worming compulsory. The shelters need to be equipped with CCTV, adequate staff, food and medical care. Any obstruction to the dog catching would be treated as contempt of court, the order said.
Following the outcry against the order, CJI BR Gavai was petitioned on Tuesday over it. The CJI then said the issue would be looked into and assigned the case to a three-judge bench.