Remove stray dogs from bus stands, railway stations: SC’s big order

Amid the “alarming rise” in dog bite cases, the Supreme Court on Friday ordered the removal of stray dogs from educational institutions, hospitals, bus stands, sports complexes, and railway stations, directing that the canines be sent to designated dog shelters.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria, which is monitoring stray dog-bite incidents through a suo motu proceeding, directed the authorities to prevent the dogs from entering the premises of government and private educational institutions and hospitals. It also said that they must not be released back to the same place where they were picked up.
The removal should be done within eight weeks, the court said.
The matter will be heard further on January 13.
The court was hearing a suo moto case, which was initiated on July 28 over a report on stray dog bites leading to rabies, particularly among children, in the national capital.
The court also directed all states and union territories, the National Highway Authority, and civic bodies to ensure the removal of stray cattle from national highways, state highways, and other roads. The court also ordered to set up a dedicated highway patrol team that will get a hold of stray cattle on the roads and ensure they are shifted to shelter homes, where proper care will be provided.
“All national highways will have helpline numbers for reporting stray cattle. The chief secretaries of all states will ensure strict compliance with these directives,” it said.
The top court, in July, had ruled that all stray dogs in the national capital and adjoining regions must be shifted away from residential localities to shelters, given the rising cases of dog bites leading to rabies deaths. According to the court, the dog shelters must have professionals who can tackle dogs, carry out sterilisation and immunisation, and not let the canines out. Terming the stray dog menace in the city as “extremely grim”, the Supreme Court had warned that any individual or organisation blocking the picking up of stray dogs by authorities will face the “strictest action”.
In another other, it had directed that the animals would be released back into the same area after sterilisation and immunisation. However, the three-judge bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria had made it clear that the relocation would not apply to dogs infected with rabies or suspected to be infected with rabies and those displaying aggressive behavior.