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The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (September 16) directed the High-Level Monitoring Committee constituted by the State government to file monthly compliance reports on whether local bodies in Kerala have taken steps to curb the issue of stray dog attacks as per Supreme Court directions.

The Division Bench of Dr. Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Preeta A.K. issued the order while considering a suo motu petition instituted to comply with the Apex Court's directions in In Re : City Hounded By Strays, Kids Pay Price v State of Andhra Pradesh.

The Supreme Court had directed all High Courts to register suo motu writ petitions to monitor compliance with its directions to remove dogs from the premises of educational institutions, hospitals, bus stands, railway stations, etc. It had also directed States and Union Territories to take all necessary measures to implement its directions in letter as well as in spirit without delay or dilution. Other directions with respect to augmentation of veterinary services, strengthening of shelter facilities, and vaccination drives were also passed.

Accordingly, a suo motu petition was registered by the High Court in July and 1212 local bodies in the State were impleaded. In the meanwhile, three orders were passed by the State government. By these orders, the mandatory directives were communicated to all local bodies; an SOP was formulated for capturing stray dogs for the purposes of subjecting them to Animal Birth Control (ABC) procedures, and for euthanizing rabid and ferocious dogs; and a High-Level Monitoring Committee was constituted.

In the order passed today, the Court has also mentioned the format in which the compliance report was to be filed. It included the following columns:

  • Local authority concerned
  • Whether Stray Dog Management Committee has been constituted within the Local Self Government Institutions
  • Directions in the Circular dated 31.07.2026 - Complied/ Partly complied/Not complied
  • If partly complied, extent of non- compliance and reasons therefor
  • If not complied, reasons therefor
  • Number of dogs euthanized, if any.

"The details shown in the Format above shall be collected and tabulated by the High-Level Monitoring Committee and filed before this Court by the 10th day of every month until further orders in this regard," the Court added.

It also observed that the suo motu petition would be taken up at 1.45 p.m. on the third Thursday of every month and in case of this day being a holiday, on the next day.

The case is listed to be taken up at 1.45 p.m. on October 29.

Case No: W.P.(C).No.23376/2026

Case Title: In Re: Compliance with the Directions issued by the Supreme Court in Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No(s). 5 of 2025

Click to Read/Download Interim Order


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