New Delhi : In a sharp rebuke to States and Union Territories for their inaction on the stray dog menace, the Supreme Court on Monday summoned the Chief Secretaries of all States and UTs, except West Bengal and Telangana. Hearing a suo motu case titled ‘In Re: City Hounded By Strays, Kids Pay The Price’, a bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice NV Anjaria expressed strong displeasure over the non-compliance.
The bench noted that only West Bengal, Telangana and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi had filed their affidavits, and even those were not on record. Why has NCT not filed its affidavit? Chief Secretary to come up with an explanation otherwise cost may be imposed and coercive steps will be taken. Notices were issued to all States and UTs your officers don’t read newspapers or social media?
The court directed all States and UTs to submit compliance affidavits under the ABC Rules. However, on Monday it found that not only had the majority failed to comply, but there was also no representation on their behalf in court. On August 11, the Pardiwala-led bench had directed Delhi authorities to relocate stray dogs to shelters and barred their release, extending similar directions to Noida, Gurugram and Ghaziabad. It had further warned of legal consequences against those obstructing authorities from picking up strays.
The court also prohibited public feeding of stray dogs, ordered the creation of designated feeding zones, and expanded the scope of the case to a pan-India level. It impelled all States, UTs, and local bodies to ensure uniform enforcement of the ABC Rules and hinted at formulating a national policy by transferring similar petitions pending in High Courts. During Monday’s hearing, when Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra informed the bench that guidelines from Jammu & Kashmir and the NCT of Delhi were available, Justice Nath insisted that “the authorities must come and present them.
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