The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its order on pleas seeking a stay on the August 11 directions of a two-judge bench mandating the removal of stray dogs in Delhi-NCR to shelter homes.
The matter, earlier being heard by a bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan in a suo motu case, was shifted to a three-judge bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta, and Justice NV Anjaria after some lawyers mentioned before the Chief Justice of India that the directions conflicted with previous orders of other benches.
Solicitor General Flags “Silent Suffering Majority”
At the outset, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Government of NCT of Delhi, said there was “a loud vocal minority and a silent suffering majority.” He remarked, “I have seen people posting videos of eating meat and then claiming to be animal lovers.”
Citing public safety concerns, Mehta said several children have died due to rabies from dog bites. “Sterilisation does not stop rabies. Even if the dogs are immunised, that won’t stop them from mutilating children,” he said, quoting Economic Times figures of 37 lakh dog bites annually – about 10,000 per day. He added, citing WHO data, that about 20,000 rabies deaths occur every year.
“Only four or five species of snakes are poisonous. But we don’t keep them at homes. Nobody is saying kill dogs. They need to be separated. Kids are not able to play outside or go to school,” he argued.
Kapil Sibal Seeks Stay Of August 11 Directions
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the NGO Project Kindness, countered that the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules and relevant parliamentary legislation must be complied with.
“This is the first time I hear the Solicitor General say don’t look at the legislation which occupies the field… Where are the shelters? Where are the pounds? They will be culled,” Sibal said, seeking a stay on four of the August 11 directions that mandated picking up stray dogs.
He warned that overcrowded shelters could lead to dogs attacking each other and spreading disease, “That will also affect humans.” He further sought the release of dogs already picked up.
Justice Nath queried whether authorities had already started picking up dogs before the order was uploaded. Sibal replied in the affirmative.
Other Senior Advocates Flag Conflicts with Past Orders
Senior Advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the August 11 order ignored at least six earlier Supreme Court orders that barred mass removal of dogs and required strict enforcement of the ABC Rules.
Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave submitted that the order was passed based only on submissions of the Solicitor General and amicus curiae without hearing animal rights activists.
Senior Advocate Aman Lekhi argued that the directions relied on anecdotal reports and unauthenticated videos. Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves said sterilisation and proper feeding would bring down the dog population.
Senior Advocate Krishnan Venugopal pointed out that there are about 1 million dogs in Delhi-NCR but shelters can accommodate only around 1,000. Justice Mehta remarked that these figures too were “anecdotal” and asked, “Where is the evidence?”
Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra said the Delhi Government had filed an affidavit expressing readiness to comply with ABC Rules.
Bench Questions MCD and Local Authorities
Turning to Additional Solicitor General Archana Pathak Dave for the MCD’s stand, Justice Nath said, “What is your stand? This is happening because of the inaction of the Municipal Corporation. The Government does nothing. The local authorities do nothing.”
“Local authorities are not doing what they should be doing. They should be here taking responsibility. Everyone who has come here to file intervention should take responsibility,” Justice Nath added before concluding the hearing.
Background of the August 11 Directions
On 28 July 2025, a bench of Justices Pardiwala and Mahadevan took suo motu cognisance of a Times of India news report titled “City hounded by strays and kids pay price.” On August 11, it ordered immediate shifting of all stray dogs in Delhi to shelters, directing authorities to create infrastructure for 5,000 dogs within 6–8 weeks, maintain daily capture records, create a dog-bite helpline, ensure no captured dog is released, and track vaccine stocks.
The order warned that “No sentiments should be involved in the entire exercise” and that “Infants and young children, not at any cost, should not fall prey to rabies.”
The three-judge bench will now decide whether to stay these directions.
(With inputs from Live Law)
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