The Supreme Court, after hearing all sides on petitions concerning the rising number of stray dogs in Delhi and lax sterilisation drives, has reserved its verdict.
The bench, comprising Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta, and Justice NV Anjaria, expressed concern over the lack of enforcement of parliamentary laws and rules.
Justice Vikram Nath remarked that Parliament frames rules and laws, but they are not followed. “On one side, humans are suffering, and on the other, animal lovers are standing here,” he observed.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Delhi Government, said people do not hate animals, but they cannot keep them in every household. He noted that children play outside, and stray dogs sometimes attack them, citing video evidence.
Mehta claimed that a ‘loud minority’ speaks in favour of stray dogs, while a ‘silent majority’, including children, suffers serious harm. He also questioned the sincerity of self-proclaimed animal lovers who share non-vegetarian food videos online.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners, stressed that compliance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules and parliamentary laws is mandatory. He alleged that municipal bodies misused available funds and failed to build adequate shelters or carry out effective sterilisation.
Sibal also objected to orders passed without notice, calling them inappropriate. He urged the court to stay such orders before further hearings.
Following orders to send stray dogs to shelter homes, three central ministries, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, and the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, have prepared a master action plan to control stray animals.
The plan estimates the stray dog population in India at 1.53 crore and aims to sterilise and vaccinate 70% of them within a year.
The Supreme Court is hearing challenges to a Rajasthan High Court order directing the removal of all stray dogs from state roads.
The High Court, on August 11, instructed municipal authorities to take immediate action. Advocate Vishal Tiwari filed the petitions before the Supreme Court.
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