Will look into it: Chief Justice amid fury over Supreme Court’s stray dog order

When a plea for routine sterilizing and vaccination of stray dogs was brought before his court on Wednesday, the Chief Justice of India stated that he will investigate the matter.

It was unclear right away, though, if the Chief Justice was alluding to the 2024 plea or the recent ruling by the Supreme Court that has angered NGOs and animal welfare advocates. A 2024 petition alleging that Delhi’s local authorities were not practicing routine sterilisation, which resulted in dog bite cases, was brought up in the CJI’s court on Wednesday. In July 2024, a notice was sent out regarding the matter.

In response, CJI BR Gavai stated that an order had already been issued on the matter, citing a recent ruling in which the Supreme Court ordered civic authorities to collect and relocate all stray canines in Delhi-NCR to shelters within eight weeks.

Although the Chief Justice promised to investigate, the Supreme Court has not yet scheduled a hearing.

A panel of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said on Monday that “immediate steps need to be taken” in response to the “grim” problem of stray dogs in Delhi-NCR.

The court’s order came after it took suo motu cognisance of reports of dog bites leading to rabies.

“You will have to launch a drive with some force, you will have to round up all the stray dogs, whether sterilised or not sterilised… society should be free from stray dogs,” the court said.

However, the court’s order has riled animal lovers, who have slammed the ruling as “inhumane” and underscored that it went against the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules.

According to ABC regulations, sterile and vaccinated stray dogs must be returned to their original place and cannot be relocated permanently.  Animal groups have protested the decree, and it has generated a great deal of discussion on social media. A group of 40–50 demonstrators were arrested in Delhi on Tuesday while they were demonstrating in the vicinity of the India Gate.