Calling the stray dog situation in Delhi-NCR “extremely grim,” the Supreme Court on Monday ordered the Delhi government and civic bodies to remove all stray dogs from the region within eight weeks and house them in dedicated shelters.
The bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan said the move was necessary to curb the rising cases of dog bites leading to rabies.
“Can animal lovers bring back the children who lost their lives to rabies?”
Justice Pardiwala asked, criticising existing rules that mandate sterilised dogs be released back to their localities.
The court made it clear:
“Forget the rules and face reality. Round up all stray dogs from all localities — whether sterilised or not — and ensure people feel safe.”
Authorities have been directed to set up shelters for at least 5,000 dogs, deploy adequate staff, and monitor the facilities with CCTV.
No person or organisation will be allowed to obstruct the capture drive, the court warned, adding that contempt proceedings would follow in case of interference. A dedicated helpline must also be created so dog bite complaints can be lodged, with the offending dog to be picked up within four hours.
The directions come after the court took suo motu cognisance of the death of six-year-old Chavi Sharma from rabies in Delhi’s Pooth Kalan area on July 26. She was bitten by a rabid dog on June 30 despite receiving treatment.
Authorities in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Gurugram must immediately begin the capture operations, the court said.
“The first step is to make localities free of stray dogs. There cannot be a compromise on this,”
The bench concluded.
