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The Supreme Court connected Wednesday (January 7, 2026) said that “no 1 knows which canine is successful what mood” and said that radical were dying not conscionable owed to canine bites but due to the fact that of roadworthy accidents caused by stray animals.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N. V. Anjaria, which was proceeding pleas for modification of its November 7 order connected contiguous relocation of stray dogs, said it is conducting the proceeding arsenic galore lawyers and carnal activists had said that they were not heard earlier passing of the order. It besides flagged non-compliance of rules and directions by civic bodies. The petitions were filed by carnal lovers and those seeking stringent compliance of orders.
“The roads should beryllium wide of dogs and stray animals. It is not lone the canine bites but besides the roaming of stray animals connected roads that are proving unsafe and causing accidents. No 1 knows which canine is successful what temper successful the morning. Civic bodies person to instrumentality the rules, modules and directions strictly,” the Bench said.
Justice Mehta pointed retired that 2 judges of the Rajasthan High Court person met with accidents successful the past 20 days and 1 of justice is inactive suffering from spinal injuries. “It’s a superior issue,” helium told lawyers appearing successful the matter.
Senior advocator Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioner seeking modification of the earlier order, said the solution lies not successful capturing each dogs but successful adopting a technological formula, accepted worldwide for reducing animal-human conflict. He submitted that the tribunal tin follow CSVR (capture, sterilise, vaccinate and release) for managing and controlling the colonisation of stray dogs which volition gradually trim canine wound cases.
“Prevention is ever amended than cure,” Justice Nath said and pointed retired that determination was thing overmuch to reason successful the substance arsenic the tribunal has lone directed to region the stray dogs from organization areas and has not interfered with immoderate rules and regulations.
The Bench said that it is advocating strict enforcement of rules, regulations, modules and modular operating procedures (SOPs) by States and civic bodies. “Some States person not responded to compliance with our orders and implementation of the arguments. We volition beryllium precise harsh with those States. All the rules, regulations and SOPs request to beryllium followed,” the apical tribunal said.
When immoderate counsels, appearing for antithetic parties, submitted that canine attacks are being reported, the Bench said that understands that children and adults are being bitten and losing their lives.
Senior advocator Gaurav Agarwal, appointed arsenic amicus curiae, said National Highways Authority of India has prepared an SOP to instrumentality the tribunal order. “They person identified 1,400 km of roadworthy arsenic a susceptible stretch. However, aft detection, the NHAI says that the authorities governments person to instrumentality attraction of it,” Mr. Agarwal said.
The Bench suggested fencing roads and expressways to forestall stray animals from trespassing.
Mr. Agarwal submitted that Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Punjab are yet to record compliance affidavits portion immoderate States person filed precise “disappointing” affidavits. To this Justice Nath said that the tribunal volition woody with those States.
In his arguments, Mr. Sibal submitted that the effect against the stray canine menace should beryllium reflective of a mature and liable society.
“First of all, this is not an adversarial contented and we are present arsenic canine lovers. If 1 tiger is simply a man-eater, we don’t termination each tigers. We indispensable marque definite that sterilisation takes spot and the colonisation indispensable travel down. There is simply a process for that,” Mr. Sibal submitted portion pointing to the CSVR exemplary and said it has brought down the canine colonisation successful Lucknow to astir zero.
Senior advocator K. K. Venugopal, appearing for NALSAR, Hyderabad, besides made his arguments and highlighted the information connected the inadequate fig of shelters needed for lodging the stray dogs.
The arguments remained inconclusive and would proceed connected Thursday.
Taking enactment of the “alarming rise” successful canine wound incidents wrong organization areas specified arsenic acquisition institutions, hospitals and railway stations, the apex tribunal had connected November 7 past twelvemonth directed forthwith relocation of stray canines to designated shelters aft owed sterilisation and vaccination. The Bench said the stray dogs truthful picked up shall not beryllium released back. It directed the authorities to guarantee the removal of each cattle and different stray animals from State highways, nationalist highways and expressways.
Recurrence of canine wound incidents wrong organization areas, including sports complexes, reflected not lone administrative apathy but besides a “systemic failure” to unafraid these premises from preventable hazards, it said.
It is proceeding a suo motu case, initiated connected July 28 past year, implicit a media study connected stray canine bites starring to rabies, peculiarly among children, successful the nationalist capital.
