NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court’s three-judge special bench is expected to pronounce on Friday its order on a batch of pleas seeking a stay on directions issued on August 11 by a two-judge bench to round up and move all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR to shelters.The bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath, with Justices Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria, had reserved its order on August 14 after hearing arguments from petitioners, the Centre, the Delhi government and others.Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for petitioner NGOs, sought a stay on the August 11 order, saying there were not enough shelters to house stray dogs. “There are the ABC (Animal Birth Control) rules in this regard. There is a Parliamentary legislation,” he said.Sibal questioned the role of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. “What have they been doing over the years? Have they built shelter homes? Since they have not sterilised, dog numbers increased. Since they have no owners, the community is taking care of them,” he argued.He further said: “Where are the shelters? Where are the pounds? They will be culled. So the August 11 order should be stayed on an interim basis.”Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi supported Sibal’s contentions, saying the order ignored previous directions against en masse removal of stray dogs.Following the August 11 order, dog lovers expressed outrage, prompting the Chief Justice of India BR Gavai to constitute a three-judge bench to address conflicting rulings on the issue.During the August 14 hearing, the court observed: “The government did 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.”The bench did not stay the earlier order by Justices Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, which directed Delhi-NCR authorities to remove stray dogs from all localities within eight weeks and house them in shelters.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi government, told the court about 3.7 million dog bites occur annually in India (amounting to nearly 10,000 a day) and cited World Health Organisation data of 20,000 rabies deaths each year. He said children were unable to play outside due to stray dogs and argued that even immunised dogs could still attack. “Nobody is saying kill dogs. They need to be separated for the safety of people,” SG Mehta said.The court criticised the MCD for its inaction. “Parliament frames rules and laws, but these are not implemented. On one hand, humans are suffering and on the other hand, the animal lovers are here. Have some responsibility… all those who have filed interventions have to file affidavits and furnish evidence,” the bench said while reserving its order.It directed all intervenors challenging the August 11 order to file affidavits.
Source link
