'Dog Bite Menace Rising' : Supreme Court Refuses To Modify Directions To Remove Stray Dogs From Public Places

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to recall its earlier directions that stray dogs picked up from public places like hospitals, bus stands, schools, railway stations, etc., must not be released to the same place after vaccination/sterilisation.The bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice NV Anjaria dismissed a bunch of applications seeking modifications to the directions issued by the Court in November last year. The Court also dismissed applications challenging the Standard Operating Procedure issued by the Animal Welfare Board of India. In the judgment pronounced today, the Court referred to reports about "deeply disturbing incidents" of dog attacks against children. Young children have been mauled, old people attacked, and even international travellers have faced dog attacks.The Court blamed the State authorities for failing in their duty to protect the lives of the people from dog attacks. "The menace of dog bites has extended to public places of critical areas, including airports and residential areas," the Court noted, after referring to various news reports.The Court said that the problem had a "staggering dimension" and the "continued recurrence of such incidents" reflected a deficiency in the implementation of the directions.The Court directed that erring officials, who fail to carry out the directions, will be liable to contempt and disciplinary action.The judgment authored by Justice Mehta stated :"Article 21 necessarily encompasses the right of every citizen to move and access public places without living under a constant apprehension of physical attack or exposure to life-threatening events such as dog bites in public areas. The state cannot remain a passive spectator where preventable threats to human life continue to proliferate in the face of statutory mechanisms specifically designed to address them.This Court cannot remain oblivious to the deeply disturbing ground realities emerging from various parts of the country where young children and elderly persons have been attacked, ordinary citizens have been left vulnerable in public places, and even international travellers have fallen to such incidents.The Constitution of India does not envisage a society where children, elderly persons and vulnerable citizens are compelled to survive at the mercy of physical strength, chance or circumstance due to failure of the state machinery...."Directions issued today.The following additional directions were issued by the Court today :1. States/UTs shall take measures to enforce the Animal Welfare Board of India Rules.2. States/UTs shall set up at least one Animal Birth Control (ABC) centre in one district.3. States/UTs shall ensure adequate availability of anti-rabies vaccines and immunoglobulins.4. Officials of the local bodies and institutions, who are duty-bound to implement the directions to secure the places from dogs, shall be entitled to due protection for the performance of their duties. No FIRs or criminal complaints should be ordinarily registered against them for the performance of their duties.5. Authorities may take measures as may be legally permissible, including euthanasia in case of rabid, dangerous dogs, to curb the threat to human life.6. The High Courts are to register suo motu cases to monitor compliance with the directions.7. Directions were also issued to the NHAI to secure highways from the menace of stray cattle.In the judgment, the Court blamed the "sporadic, underfunded and uneven" implementation of the ABC Rules for the stray dog problem."Had the states and union territories acted with due diligence and foresight in implementing the mandate of the ABC Framework from its inception, including the timely and phased documentation of sterilisation capacity, sustained vaccination and the development of an adequate institutional infrastructure, the present situation would not have assumed such alarming proportions.Prolonged inaction and absence of institutional commitment to effective implementation of ABC Framework have contributed significantly to the persistence as well as aggravation of the problem, which has now assumed dimensions warranting urgent and systemic intervention," the Court observed. In November last year, the bench had passed a slew of directions to the authorities to ensure the removal of stray dogs from public places such as schools, hospitals, bus stands, railway stations, and sports complexes. The Court directed that the dogs must be shifted to shelters, and must not be released back to the same place from where they were picked.The bench had also issued directions banning the feeding of dogs in streets, except in designated feeding spots.Later, several applications were filed by dog lovers and animal rights groups to recall these directions. After elaborately hearing these applications, the bench reserved judgment on January 29.BackgroundIn July last year, a two-judge bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R...

'Dog Bite Menace Rising' : Supreme Court Refuses To Modify Directions To Remove Stray Dogs From Public Places

Amisha Shrivastava

The Court allowed euthanasia of rabid and aggressive dogs.

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Amisha Shrivastava

'Dog Bite Menace Rising' : Supreme Court Refuses To Modify Directions To Remove Stray Dogs From Public Places

Amisha Shrivastava

The Court allowed euthanasia of rabid and aggressive dogs.

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INR 1099+GST

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Amisha Shrivastava

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