The Supreme Court has stayed the order of August 11 in the case of stray dogs. The court said that the dogs that have been caught can be released only after sterilization and vaccination. However, dogs that are infected with rabies or whose behavior is aggressive will not be released.
Amending its August 11 order, the three-judge bench made it clear that it would not be mandatory to keep all street dogs in a shelter house. The court said that the dogs that will be caught will be released at the same place from where they were picked up after vaccination and sterilization. The Supreme Court also clarified that now a uniform policy will be made for the whole country, so that the problems related to street dogs can be solved in a standard way. This decision has come on the petition in which a stay was sought on the court’s August 11 order.
Justice Vikram Nath said during the hearing that these are interim instructions. He informed that now all the states and union territories have been made parties in this case so that a uniform policy can be considered for the whole country. The court also said that all the cases related to this subject, which are pending in different High Courts, will be transferred to the Supreme Court. The court aims to solve the problem related to stray dogs by making a national policy.
Justice Vikram Nath said that the municipal authorities will have to comply with paragraphs 12, 12.1 and 12.2. The court has stayed the ban on releasing stray dogs. He also clarified that dogs behaving aggressively and infected with rabies will also be vaccinated.
The Supreme Court has clarified that it will not be mandatory to keep all dogs in shelter houses permanently. Rather, they will be released at the same place from where they were caught after vaccination and sterilization.
In fact, on August 11, the court had ordered to permanently send stray dogs from the streets of Delhi-NCR to ‘dog shelters’ and also said that strict action will be taken against those who obstruct the capture of dogs. But now this order has been changed. Justice Vikram Nath said that these are interim instructions and now all the states and union territories have been made parties in this case. Also, such pending cases across the country will be transferred to the Supreme Court and a national policy will be considered.
