Supreme Court reserves order on plea challenging removal of stray dogs from streets of Delhi NCR  

The Supreme Court of India on Thursday (August 14, 2025) reserved its order on an interim plea seeking a stay on its August 11, 2025, suo motu directive ordering the removal of stray dogs from the capital’s streets and their confinement in shelters within six to eight weeks.

“Local authorities are not doing what they should be doing. They should be here taking responsibility,” a Bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath and also comprising Sandeep Mehta and N.V. Anjaria underscored. However, the top court declined to grant a stay on the directions issued to civic bodies by a Division Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan.

During the proceedings, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing on behalf of the Union Government, said most fatalities from dog bites and rabies involved children and called for an urgent resolution to the escalating public health risk posed by stray dogs. “Nobody is an animal hater. Children are dying. This issue needs to be resolved, not to be contested,” he said.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for an NGO which looks after dogs, said the situation was “very serious” and the matter needed to be argued in depth. He pressed for a stay on some of the directives in the August 11 order, contending that they contravened the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, which prohibit relocation of strays from their original place of habitation.

Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for one of the petitioners, argued that the August 11, 2025, order “puts the horse before the cart,” as there were no adequate shelters to accommodate the strays. He added that the directive contravenes earlier Supreme Court rulings mandating strict adherence to the ABC Rules, 2023, in rehabilitating stray dogs.

The suo-motu case, initially heard by a Bench led by Justice J.B. Pardiwala, was later reassigned by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai to a three-judge Bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath. On August 13, 2025, a lawyer apprised the Chief Justice of a May 9, 2024, order to treat stray canines with compassion. The CJI had agreed to list the case after this oral mentioning.

Taking cognisance of increasing instances of stray dog attacks on children, including infants, Justice Pardiwala had said authorities should “at the earliest start picking up stray dogs from all localities, more particularly the vulnerable localities of the city as well as areas on the outskirts.”

However, the directive sparked widespread outrage among animal rights activists, public figures, and welfare organisations, who argued that the region lacks sufficient facilities to accommodate an estimated eight lakh stray dogs. They warned that the large-scale capture of so many animals could result in logistical chaos and lead to acts of cruelty.