Stray Dogs Picked Up Must Be Released After Vaccination, Except Aggressive Or Rabies-Infected: Supreme Court Modifies Earlier Order

The Supreme Court today(August 22) stayed the direction passed by a two-judge bench on August 11 that stray dogs, which are picked up from the Delhi National Capital Region, must not be released.

The Court opined that the "direction given in the order dated 11th August, 2025, prohibiting the release of the treated and vaccinated dogs seems to be too harsh." It noted that Rule 11(9) of the ABC Rules provided that once the stray dogs have been sterilised, inoculated, and dewormed, they have to be released back in the same locality from which they were picked up

A three-judge bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice NV Anjaria clarified that the stray dogs, which are picked up, must be released back to the same area from where they were picked up, after sterilisation, deworming and immunisation, except those dogs which are infected with rabies, suspected to be infected with rabies or are exhibiting aggressive behaviour.

The Court also ordered a prohibition on public feeding of stray dogs and directed the creation of dedicated feeding spaces.

The Court reiterated the direction in the August 11 order that no individual or organisation should obstruct the Municipal authorities from picking up the dogs in terms of the ABC rules.

The Court expanded the scope of the matter beyond Delhi-NCR and extended it pan-India. All States and UTs, Secretaries of Animal Husbandry department, Secretaries of local bodies, Municipal corporations were impleaded for the compliance of ABC Rules. The Court also said that it will transfer to itself the similar petitions pending in High Courts to the Supreme Court to formulate a national policy on the issue.  

Saying that a "holistic approach" requires modification of the order passed on August 11, Justice Nath read out the directions as follows :

1. Municipal authorities shall continue to comply with the directions contained in paragraphs 12.1 and 12.2 of the August 11 order - which pertain to the creation of dog shelters and pounds.

2. The directions contained in paragraph 12.3 and 12.4 to the extent they prohibit the release of the picked-up strays, shall be kept in abeyance for the time being. The dogs that are picked up shall be sterilised, dewormed, vaccinated, and released back to the same area from where they were picked up. It is however clarified that this relocation shall not apply to dogs infected with rabies or suspected to be infected with rabies or those that display aggressive behaviour. Such dogs shall be sterilised and immunised, but under no circumstances they shall be released back into the streets. Furthermore, as far as possible, such dogs shall be kept in separate shelters/pounds after sterilisation and immunisation.

3. The directions contained in paragraph 12.5 (directions on keeping the dogs in shelters, adoption etc) remain subject to the directions contained above.

4. The Municipal authorities shall forthwith commence the exercise of creating dedicated feeding spaces for stray dogs in each municipal ward. The feeding area shall be identified keeping in view with the population of stray dogs in the ward. Notice boards must be placed mentioning that stray dogs shall be fed only in such areas. Under no condition shall the feeding of stray dogs on the streets be permitted. The persons found feeding the dogs in contravention of this direction shall be liable to be proceeded with under the relevant framework. The aforesaid direction is being issued in the light of reports regarding untoward incidents caused by unregulated feeding of stray dogs and to ensure that the practice of feeding dogs on roads and in public places is eliminated, as the said practice creates great difficulties for the common man walking in the streets.

5. Each Municipal authority shall create a dedicated helpline number for reporting violations of the above directions. On such reports being received, appropriate action must be taken against the NGOs or individuals concerned.

6. No individual or organisation shall cause hindrance to the effective implementation of the directions given above. In case, any public servant is obstructed, the violators will be liable to face prosecution for obstruction of discharge of public duty.

7. Each individual dog lover and each NGO who have approached this Court must deposit a sum of Rs 25,000 and Rs 2 lakhs, respectively with the Registry of this Court, failing which they shall not be allowed to appear in the matter any further. The amount deposited shall be utilised for the creation of infrastructure and facilities for the stray dogs under the aegis of the respective municipal bodies.

8. The desirous animal lovers shall be free to move application to the concerned municipal bodies for the adoption of street dogs, upon which the identified selected dogs shall be tagged and given to the applicant. It shall be the responsibility of the applicants to ensure that the adopted dogs do not return to the streets.

9. The Municipal authorities shall file affidavit of compliance with complete resources namely dog pounds, veterinarians, dog catching personnels, cages etc available on date for the compliance of the ABC Rules.

Return of dogs after sterilisation a scientific approach

The Court noted that the framework of the ABC Rules, to be specific, Rule 11(19) clearly provides that once the stray dogs have been sterilised, inoculated, and dewormed, they have to be released back in the same locality from which they were picked up

This provision, the Court said, has a scientific basis, and served two purposes - Firstly, the same prevents the scope of overcrowding in the dog shelters/pounds, and secondly, the picked-up stray dogs after immunisation and sterilisation are relocated to the same environment where they were living earlier, which is a compassionate treatment.

Hence, the Court 

Background 

A two-judge bench, comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan, on July 28, took suo motu cognizance of the stray dog issue based on a newspaper report "In a city hounded by strays, kids pay price".

On August 11, the bench passed directions to relocate the dogs to shelters and barred their release.

In a dramatic turn of events on August 13, the suo motu case relating to stray dogs, in which the August 11 directions were passed by a two-judge bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan, was shifted to this three-judge bench, after some lawyers mentioned before the Chief Justice of India that those directions were in conflict with the previous orders passed by other benches.

On August 14, the three-judge bench heard the matter and reserved order on whether to stay the August 11 directions. On July 28, the two judges took suo moto cognisance of a news item titled "City hounded by strays and kids pay price" published in today's Delhi edition of The Times of India.

The directions passed by the two-judge bench were:

1. State of NCT of Delhi, Municipal Corporation of Delhi(MCD), and New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) are directed to immediately make dog shelters and report about the creation of infrastructure all over State of NCT Delhi within 8 weeks. The dog shelters shall have sufficient personnel for sterilised and immunised stray dogs, and also for looking after stray dogs who would be detained there and not released in streets/colonies/public places. It will be monitored by CCTV to ensure no dogs are released or taken out.

2. Since this is progressive exercise, the dog shelters has to be increased over time, State/MCD/NDMC should begin with dog shelters for 5,000 dogs in next 6/8 weeks. NCT Delhi, MCD, and NDMC shall, at the earliest, start picking up stray dogs from all localities, more particularly vulnerable localities of the city as well as areas on the outskirts. How to do, it is for the authorities to look into it, and if they have to create a force, they shall do it at the earliest. However, this should be the first and foremost exercise to make all localities within city and outskirts free of stray dogs. There should not be any compromise in undertaking this exercise. If any individual or organisation comes of such force in the way of picking up stray dogs or rounding them up, and if its reported to us, we will proceed to take action against any such resistance which may be offered.We are issuing this directing keeping in mind the larger public interest.

Infants and young children, not at any cost, should not fall prey to rabies. The action should inspire confidence that they can move freely on roads without fear of being bitten by stray dogs. No sentiments should be involved in the entire exercise. This should be the first step in the process.

3. MCD/NDMC and the appropriate authority of Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram, all authorities are directed to maintain a record of daily stray dogs captured and housed in shelter homes. Such record shall be produced to us in the next date of hearing. However, what is important, and without which the entire exercise would be futile, not a single stray dog picked up from any part of locality should be released, and if we know that this has happened, we will take stern action.

4. Create a helpline within 1 week so that all cases of dog bites are reported. Action should be taken to round up, catch the dog within 4 hours after a complaint is received and any action of an individual or organisation coming in the way will be taken very seriously and we will proceed with contempt. The said dog will be captured, sterilised and immunised as required by Rules and shall not be released under any circumstances. The authorities concerned shall inform the medical facilities so that the victim is treated immediately.

Report in this regard shall be presented before us in next hearing.

5. Availability of vaccine is a major concern- authorities concerned are directed to put detailed information of vaccines available, the stock of vaccines and the persons who have sought it.

Any hindrance or objections that may be caused by any individual or organisations in the smooth and effective implementation of our directions, will be viewed as contempt of the Court and we will proceed in accordance with law.

Case Details: IN RE : 'CITY HOUNDED BY STRAYS, KIDS PAY PRICE'|SMW(C) No. 5/2025

Citation : 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 825