On Wednesday, the Supreme Court (SC), which heard appeals relating to the menace of street dogs, declared that it would not shy away from taking up cases involving orders issued by different civic bodies concerning wild dogs.
Highlighting Kerala and Mumbai, the SC stated that it would not widen the parameters of such cases. Many petitions, as observed involved cases under the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994, the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, are being considered by the SC.
A few of the petitions deal with the Bombay High Court’s 2022 observation regarding individuals who are interested in the protection and welfare of stray dogs, including providing their food, housing them in dog shelters, and covering maintenance costs.
One of the pleas addresses the issue of Kerala’s stray dog culling programme. The SC stated in a hearing on Wednesday, that the parties should review the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, because many of the concerns voiced earlier might be settled with a brief review.
Judges Sanjay Karol and J K Maheshwari stated that while they are not afraid to address these matters, they will not consent to its scope being broadened.
The Bench said that one needs to get into the depth of the crux of the matter. There was a discussion on the implementation of the 2023 guidelines, at the suggestion of one of the attorneys.
In this discussion, a different advocate cited a recent advisory from the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) and stated, that if one goes through it, then 90% of the problem of stray animals can be resolved.
Hence, the authorities are expected to examine and deal with these issues as per 2023 guidelines, which can resolve all their issues.
The top court stated that the parties are free to go and seek a remedy before the high courts if a problem persists after that, and it scheduled a follow-up hearing on 8th May 2024.
The SC declined to issue any interim directive during the plea hearing in September of last year, stating that it would decide after reviewing the prevailing laws, regulations, and their application.
The Apex Court had requested that the AWBI provide an affidavit with information on dog-bite incidences that had occurred in recent years in various states and well-known cities during the earlier sessions.
The SC has ruled that animal rights and public safety must coexist in harmony. Hence, to allow local authorities to address the problem of stray dogs as per the law, certain NGOs and individual petitioners have petitioned the SC against rulings made by some high courts, such as Bombay and Kerala high courts.
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