The Supreme Court is set to announce its decision on whether stray dogs in the National Capital Region (NCR) will be relocated to shelters to ensure public safety, following a controversial earlier order that sparked nationwide debate.
The matter is being heard by a three-judge bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria, who had reserved judgment earlier this week. On August 11, a separate bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan had directed authorities to remove stray dogs to shelters within eight weeks, citing rising dog bite incidents, cases of rabies, and even deaths.
The August 11 order mandated the creation of shelters for at least 5,000 dogs, staffed with personnel trained in vaccination and sterilisation. Authorities were instructed to begin rounding up stray dogs, with captured animals not to be released back into public spaces. The bench emphasized that the directive was issued in public interest, stating, “No sentiments of any nature should be involved.”
The directive, however, triggered widespread protests and criticism from animal rights activists and dog lovers, who feared culling or disease-related deaths in shelters. The Chief Justice of India intervened, and the matter was referred to a larger bench.
Activists argue that the order is costly, impractical, and that sterilisation is the only effective long-term solution. Critics also point out that Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, and other NCR cities lack infrastructure to relocate such a large stray population, with the projected costs potentially straining civic budgets.
Government data shared in Parliament by Union Minister SP Singh Baghel indicated that in 2024, there were over 37 lakh dog bite cases and 54 suspected human rabies deaths in India, highlighting the public health urgency of the issue.