Directions by the Supreme Court – Menace of dog bites – Mollification of the directions issued vide order dated 11.08.2025:
Held: a) Municipal authorities shall continue to comply with the directions contained in paras 12(i) and 12(ii) of the subject order; b) The directions contained in paras 12(iii) and 12(iv), to the extent that they prohibit the release of the picked up strays, to be kept in abeyance for the time being – The dogs that are picked up shall be sterilised, dewormed, vaccinated, and released back to the same area from which they were picked up – However, this relocation shall not apply to the dogs infected with rabies or suspected to be infected with rabies, and those that display aggressive behaviour; c) The directions contained in para 12(v) shall remain subject to the directions given in paras (a) and (b); d) Municipal authorities directed to commence an exercise for creating dedicated feeding spaces for the stray dogs in each municipal ward – Feeding of dogs on streets impermissible; e) Each municipal authority shall create a dedicated helpline number for reporting incidents of violation of the above directions – On such a report being received, appropriate measures shall be taken against the individuals/NGOs concerned; f) The direction given in para 13 of the order dated 11.08.2025, is reiterated with a slight modification that in case any public servant acting in compliance with the aforesaid directions is obstructed, then the violator/s shall be liable to face prosecution for obstructing the public servant acting in discharge of official duty; g) Each individual dog lover and each NGO that has approached this Court shall deposit a sum of Rs.25,000/- and Rs.2,00,000/-, respectively, with the Registry of this Court, failing which they shall not be allowed to appear in the matter any further – The amounts so deposited shall be utilised in the creation of the infrastructure and facilities for the stray dogs under the aegis of the respective municipal bodies; h) The desirous animal lover/s are free to move the application to the concerned municipal body for adoption of the street dogs; i) The municipal authorities directed to file an affidavit of compliance with complete statistics of resources, viz., dog pounds, veterinarians, dog catching personnel, specially modified vehicles/cages available as on date for the purpose of compliance of the ABC Rules. [Para 33]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Ankit Gyan. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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