New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday modified its earlier directive on stray dogs, permitting their release back into the same locality after sterilization, vaccination, and deworming, except in cases where the animals are aggressive or rabid.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N.V. Anjaria also widened the scope of the issue, transferring all similar cases to the apex court for the framing of a national policy.
“Municipal authorities shall comply with para 12, 12.1 and 12.2, prohibition on release of strays shall be stayed. They shall be dewormed, vaccinated, etc, and sent back to the same area. Those dogs with aggressive behavior or with rabies shall be immunized and not released,” Justice Nath said while pronouncing the order.
The court, however, imposed a blanket ban on public feeding of stray dogs, directing municipal bodies to set up designated feeding zones in each ward. Violators will face legal action.
Earlier this month, another bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan had ordered that all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR be rounded up within eight weeks and kept in shelters, citing a surge in dog bites and rabies cases. Government data for 2024 recorded over 37 lakh dog bites and 54 suspected rabies deaths.
That ruling, which also directed the creation of shelters for at least 5,000 dogs, triggered strong opposition from animal rights groups, celebrities and citizens, who argued that mass relocation was impractical, prohibitively costly, and beyond the capacity of civic bodies in Delhi, Gurugram and Noida.
In view of the widespread criticism, Chief Justice B.R. Gavai had ordered a reconsideration of the August 11 ruling by a fresh bench, leading to Friday’s revised order.