नवीनतम
SC reserves order on plea against stray dog relocation
NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: The whole problem of stray dogs in Delhi-NCR is because of "inaction" of local authorities, the Supreme Court said on Thursday while reserving its order on the interim prayer seeking a stay on the August 11 directions passed by the apex court.
A two-judge bench of the top court had on August 11 directed authorities in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) to start picking up stray dogs from all localities "at the earliest" and relocate the animals to dog shelters.
While hearing the matter on Thursday, a three-judge bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath said, "The whole problem is because of inaction of local authorities.They should take responsibility here. Every person who has come here to register an intervention should take responsibility".
The Delhi government told the Supreme Court that children are dying due to dog bites causing rabies, and the issue of stray dogs needs to be resolved and not to be contested.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi government, told a three-judge bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath that there were over 37 lakh reported dog bites in a year in the country. "People and animal lovers feed non-vegetarian food to stray dogs. Dogs are violent too. Children have died due to rabies caused by their bites. 37 lakh people die every year and ten thousand people die due to dog bites every day. 305 people have died in a year," Mehta said.
"Nobody is an animal hater," Mehta told the bench, also comprising Justices Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria. "We are not in favour of killing them. We want to keep them away from human settlements so that the roads can be kept safe for children and the elderly," he added.
Meanwhile, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for an NGO which looks after dogs, said the situation was "very serious" and the matter needed to be argued in depth. Sibal sought a stay on some of the directions passed by the apex court on August 11, including the directions to the authorities in Delhi-NCR to start picking up stray dogs from all localities "at the earliest" and relocate the animals to dog shelters.
"First time I have heard a Solicitor say that there is a legislation in place and it is an occupied field but don't look at it. Parliamentary legislation and ABC rules have to be complied with. What has the municipal corporation done for so many years have they built shelter homes have they will sterilized? There is money but it gets siphoned. You can't pass an order like this Suo Moto without any notice. This is a serious issue, it needs to be heard. Kindly stay the order. The arrangements to be made after picking up the dogs require time and infrastructure. All this is not there," said Sibal.
He further said that the court should stay this order. "Governments and authorities should be asked to make arrangements for sterilization, vaccination and where to leave them after that. Instead of the Solicitor General's argument that people in the society feed and keep these stray dogs roaming on the streets," he added.
