'Alarming Rise In Dog Bite Cases' : Supreme Court Orders Removal Of Stray Dogs From Premises Of Schools, Hospitals, Bus Stands Etc

Having regard to the "alarming rise of dog-bite incidents", the Supreme Court on Friday ordered that every educational institution, hospital, public sports complexes, bus stand and depots, railway stations, etc must be fenced properly to prevent the entry of stray dogs.It will be the responsibility of the concerned local self-government institutions to pick up stray dogs from such institutions/areas, and shift them to designated dog shelters after vaccination and sterilisation in accordance with the Animal Birth Control Rules. The Court further ordered that stray dogs picked up from these areas must not be released to the same spot from which they were picked up. "Permitting the same would frustrate the very purpose of liberating such institutions from the presence of stray dogs," the Court observed.A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria passed the order in the suo motu Stray Dogs matter. The Court directed that the local bodies must carry out periodic inspections to ensure that no stray dog habitat exists in such premises.After the order was pronounced, Senior Advocates Anand Grover, Karuna Nundy etc, urged the bench to consider their submissions before signing the order. Nundy said that if dogs are removed, new dogs will occupy the same spot. The bench however refused to entertain the submissions.The Court took note of various reports regarding dog-bite incidents across the country. Amicus Curiae Senior Advocate Gaurav Agarwal also submitted a report.The directions are as follows :Having regard to the alarming rise in incidents of dog bites within institutional areas such as educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands/depots (including Inter-State Bus Terminals) and railway stations, this Court deems it appropriate to issue the following directions in the interest of public safety, health, and management of stray dogs: - A. The State Governments and Union Territories shall through their respective local/ municipal authorities, within a period of two weeks, identify all Government and private educational institutions, hospitals (including district hospitals, primary health centres, and medical colleges), public sports complexes or stadia, bus stands/depots (including Inter-State Bus Terminals) and railway stations situated within their territorial limits. B. The administrative heads of the aforesaid institutions shall through their respective local/ municipal authorities, under the overall supervision of the District Magistrate concerned, ensure that the premises are secured by adequate fencing, boundary walls, gates and such other structural or administrative measures as may be necessary to prevent the ingress of stray dogs. The said exercise shall be completed as soon as possible and preferably within a period of 8 weeks from today. C. The management of every educational institution, hospital, sports complex, bus stand/depot (including Inter-State Bus Terminal) and railway station identified under Direction (A) shall designate a Nodal Officer responsible for the upkeep and cleanliness of the premises and for ensuring that stray dogs do not enter or inhabit the campus. The details of the said officer shall be displayed prominently at the entrance and notified to the jurisdictional municipal body/authority. D. The local municipal authorities and panchayats shall carry out regular inspections, at least once in every three months, of all such premises to ensure that no stray dog habitats exist within or in the immediate vicinity of these institutions. Any lapse in this regard shall be viewed seriously, and responsibility shall be fixed upon the concerned municipal officials/administrative authorities.E. It shall be the responsibility of the jurisdictional municipal body/authority to forthwith remove every stray dog found within the premises of an educational institution, hospital (public or private), sports complex, bus stand/depot (including Inter-State Bus Terminal) or railway station and to shift such animal/s to a designated shelter, after due sterilisation and vaccination, in accordance with the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023. The stray dogs so picked up shall not be released back to the same location from which they were picked up. We have consciously directed the non-release of such stray dogs to the same location from which they were picked up, as permitting the same would frustrate the very effect of the directions issued to liberate such institutional areas from the presence of stray dogs. F. All Government and private hospitals shall maintain a mandatory stock of anti-rabies vaccines and immunoglobulin at all times. G. Every school and educational institution shall be directed by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, to conduct awareness sessions for students and staff on preventive behaviour around animals, first-aid in case of bites, and immediate reporting protocols.H. The management of stadiums and sports complexes shall ensure the...

'Alarming Rise In Dog Bite Cases' : Supreme Court Orders Removal Of Stray Dogs From Premises Of Schools, Hospitals, Bus Stands Etc

Debby Jain

The Court ordered that the dogs picked up from these areas must not be released to the same spot.

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