Supreme Court Reserves Orders In Stray Dogs Case; Asks AWBI To Expedite Centres' Applications For Recognition

While reserving orders in the stray dogs case, the Supreme Court today asked the Animal Welfare Board of India to expeditiously decide applications filed by local organizations seeking recognition to carry out animal welfare programmes like sterilization.

"The only request to AWBI is whatever applications are pending, you must process them with expedience. Either you reject them within a specified time or grant them", the Court conveyed to AWBI.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria heard the matter. It may be recalled that a suo motu case on the stray dogs issue was taken up by the Supreme Court last year, following a news report regarding the tragic death of 6-year old Chavi Sharma following a dog bite incident. Following the same, many intervenors joined in to make submissions, including dog lovers, dog feeders, animal welfare organizations, NGOs, etc. as well as dog bite victims. Separate petitions were also filed and tagged alongwith the suo motu case.

On November 7, the Court ordered removal of stray dogs from institutional premises and highways, and directed that they must not be released back in places from where they are picked up. Many intervenors argued for modification of these directions, while victims and other stakeholders prayed for extension of the directions to gated communities and housing societies.

Yesterday, the Court had heard Senior Advocate Gaurav Aggarwal (Amicus Curiae) and some state counsels who responded to the Amicus' submissions. During the hearing, it deprecated certain states' affidavits as "vague" and opined that stray dog attacks on beaches affect tourism. Today, the bench heard the remaining states/UTs, the National Highways Authority of India, and the AWBI.

The Court told NHAI that patrolling work on highways must be done by NHAI and suggested that it come up with an app for reporting animal sightings on highways. The NHAI on the other hand told the Court that Standard Operating Procedures have been notified and instructions issued by the states/UTs. Some states/UTs, however, including Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Punjab, have not come forward for meetings, despite NHAI's best efforts.

Counsel for AWBI told the Court that as per available data, there are 883 centres (for sterilization) across the country, out of which 76 are recognized by the AWBI. Applications of about 250 centres are currently pending. "Since when are they pending?" asked Justice Nath. On this, the counsel said that quite a few applications were received after the Court's order of November 7.

Subsequently, the Court questioned AWBI's counsel as to what is happening in centres which have not been recognized. In response, she flagged a discrepancy in data, highlighting that in some cases (like Uttarakhand) the sterilization numbers exceed the total dog population of the area. "The reasons are obvious, everyone is aware of it. How much grant is given", remarked Justice Mehta.

Case Title: In Re : 'City Hounded By Strays, Kids Pay Price', SMW(C) No. 5/2025 (and connected cases)