Stray Dog Case : Supreme Court To Pass Orders Regulating Feeding Of Dogs In Govt Office Premises

In the Stray Dogs matter, the Supreme Court today observed that it will be issuing directions regulating the feeding of dogs in the premises of government buildings.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria said that the order will be uploaded in a couple of days.

"We will issue order in a few days regarding government institutions, where employees are supporting and encouraging dogs in that area," Justice Vikram Nath observed. Senior Advocate Karuna Nundy, appearing for an intervenor, requested that they may be heard before any direction to that effect is passed. However, the bench declined. "With regard to govt institutions, we will not hear," Justice Nath said. Nundy also submitted that there were several flaws with the designation of feeding areas by the Delhi local bodies. The bench said that this issue will be examined on the next hearing date.

Today, the bench also noted the presence of the Chief Secretaries of the States/Union Territories, who were asked to appear for their failure in filing affidavits showing compliance with the Animal Birth Control Rules.  The bench noted that compliance affidavits have been filed by the States.   The bench dispensed with the personal presence of the Chief Secretaries on the next dates, with a warning that if there is any future default, it will be ordered.

The Court also impleaded the Animal Welfare Board of India as a respondent in the case. Also, the intervention applications by victims of dog bites were allowed, and they were exempted from the requirement of making the deposit (which was made applicable for the interventions by dog lovers). As per the August 22 order, individuals and NGOs espousing the cause of dogs were asked to deposit Rs 25,000 and Rs 2 lakhs respectively with the Court's registry to intervene in the suo motu matter.

The Court also clarified that Senior Advocate Guarav Agarwal will continue as the amicus curiae in the matter.

To recap, on October 27, the Court summoned Chief Secretaries of all States/Union Territories, except West Bengal and Telangana, for not filing affidavits regarding the steps taken by them to implement the Animal Birth Control Rules. It was noted that only West Bengal, Telangana and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi had filed the compliance affidavits, in compliance with the Court's August 22 directions. Hence, the Court directed the Chief Secretaries of the defaulting States/UTs to appear on the next date to explain why compliance affidavits were not filed.

The Court also noted that there was no representation on behalf of the defaulting states during the hearing. Expressing dissatisfaction at the development, Justice Nath said that the Court had issued notices to all States/UTs and the order was also widely reported.

On October 31, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mentioned the matter requesting the Court to allow the Chief Secretaries to appear virtually and exempt their personal appearance. But the same was not allowed. Justice Nath's bench rather expressed displeasure, saying the Court was trying to resolve issues which should have been solved by the municipal corporations and state governments, yet the Chief Secretaries sat on the Court's order and did not show respect for it.

Background

On July 28, a bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan took suo motu cognizance of the stray dog issue based on a Times of India report titled "In a city hounded by strays, kids pay price".

On August 11, the bench expressed serious concerns about the menace of dog bites/rabies and passed directions for Delhi government authorities to relocate the dogs to shelters while barring their release. The bench ordered the authorities in the National Capital Territory of Delhi to immediately start picking up stray dogs from all localities and shift them to dog shelters. The directions also extended to Noida, Gurugram and Ghaziabad.

At the same time, the Court warned that if any individual or organization obstructed the authorities from picking up stray dogs, they would face legal consequences. The authorities can create a dedicated force to pick up the strays, the Court clarified.

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 Justice Pardiwala-led bench, was shifted to a 3-judge bench led by Justice Vikram Nath, after some lawyers mentioned before CJI BR Gavai that those directions were in conflict with the previous orders passed by other benches.

On August 14, the 3-judge bench heard the matter and reserved order on whether to stay the August 11 directions. On August 22, it stayed the directions issued by Justice Pardiwala-led bench and opined: "direction given in the order dated 11th August, 2025, prohibiting the release of the treated and vaccinated dogs seems to be too harsh".

On the basis of Rule 11(9) of the ABC Rules, the bench clarified that stray dogs, which are picked up, must be released back to the same area from where they were picked up, after sterilization, deworming and immunization, except those dogs which are infected with rabies, suspected to be infected with rabies or are exhibiting aggressive behaviour.

The bench also ordered a prohibition on public feeding of stray dogs and directed the creation of dedicated feeding spaces. Further, it reiterated the direction in the August 11 order that no individual or organization should obstruct the municipal authorities from picking up the dogs in terms of the ABC rules.

Moreover, the bench 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 and municipal corporations were impleaded to ensure the compliance with the ABC Rules. The bench also said that it will transfer to Supreme Court similar petitions pending in High Courts to formulate a national policy on the issue.

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

Click Here To Read/Download Order