Delhi High Court Seeks Finalisation Of SOP For Use Of Service Dogs To Aid Movement Of Persons With Disabilities

The Delhi High Court has called for the finalisation of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) by the authorities for use of service dogs to assist persons with disabilities for ease of their movement and commute.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Dinesh Mehta and Justice Aditi Choudhary was dealing with a public interest litigation filed by the Dhananjay Sanjogta Foundation concerning the use of service dogs by persons with disabilities.

The Court expressed its expectation that the concerned authorities would finalise the SOP by the next date of hearing- January 07, 2027.

The Court was informed that the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying and the concerned authorities had placed a draft SOP for service dogs assisting persons with disabilities in India before it.

The counsel appearing for the authorities submitted that objections were invited from the general public and stakeholders and that the SOP would soon be finalised.

During the proceedings, certain suggestions were made for consideration and possible incorporation into the SOP.

These included maintaining a register of service dogs and assigning each dog a registration number. It was also suggested that service dogs be provided with uniquely coloured collars to help members of the public, including security personnel, identify them as service dogs.

A suggestion was also made that service dogs be muzzled when taken to crowded places such as cinema halls, malls and hospitals to ensure peace and harmony.

The counsel for the authorities assured the Court that the said suggestions would be conveyed to the authorities for consideration and incorporation into the SOP.

“While expecting that the respondent nos.1 & 2 will finalise the SOP by the next date of hearing so that the persons like the petitioner and others can use service dogs for their easy commutation/movement,” the Court said.

Meanwhile, the Bench directed the other respondents to take requisite steps to address the grievances highlighted by the petitioner organization.

The PIL, filed in 2024, challenges the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 on the ground that they are violative of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 to the extent that they fail to address the issue of stray animal attacks on Persons with Disabilities.

It was the Foundation's case that India and more particularly, Delhi has a very high population of stray animals, most of which are not vaccinated and sterilized.

It was stated that due to lapses in the management of stray animals, many of them also become aggressive and prone to attacking people, which poses a major health and safety risk to the inhabitants of localities with a high population of stray animals especially when it comes to vulnerable sections of the population including aged individuals and PwDs.

The plea said that the inability of visually impaired persons to anticipate threats and their restricted mobility renders them incapable of defending themselves in cases of an attack by stray animals.

It added that many PwDs in other jurisdictions rely on service animals and therapy-animals to go about their lives, but there exists no enabling framework for PwDs to utilise service or therapy animals in India, thus placing them in a disadvantageous position vis-à-vis their counterparts in other jurisdictions.