The Supreme Court on Friday ordered that all government premises – such as hospital, schools and railway stations – must be properly fenced to prevent stray dogs from entering, Live Law reported.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria said that there had been an “alarming rise” in dog bite incidents in the country.
The court said that the concerned local authorities will be responsible for removing stray dogs from such areas and placing them in designated shelters after vaccinating and sterilising them.
Stray dogs picked up from these premises must not be released in the same areas from which they were taken away, the judges directed. “Permitting the same would frustrate the very purpose of liberating such institutions from the presence of stray dogs,” the bench said, according to The Hindu.
In July, a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan had taken suo motu cognisance of concerns about stray dogs in public places based on a media report. On August 11, it had directed authorities in the National Capital Territory of Delhi to immediately begin relocating street dogs and build shelters for 5,000 to 6,000 animals within six weeks.
However, the case was shifted to a three-judge bench headed by Nath two days later. On August 22, the court stayed the directions given by the two-judge bench and said that stray dogs that are picked up should be released back into the same area after being sterilised, dewormed and immunised.
The court, however, had said that dogs displaying aggressive behaviour, or those infected with rabies, should not be released.
On November 3, the court had also taken serious note of government employees feeding stray dogs within office premises, observing that such conduct violated its directions mandating the creation of designated feeding zones for canines, The Hindu reported.
Other directions
On Friday, the bench also directed government and private educational and medical institutions, transport hubs and sports facilities to appoint a nodal officer responsible for the maintenance of their premises and surveillance to prevent stray dogs and other animals from entering.
It instructed local bodies and panchayats to conduct regular inspections over the next three months and submit compliance reports to the court, The Hindu reported.
The bench also asked the National Highways Authority of India to remove stray cattle and other animals from national and state highways and relocate them to designated shelters.
Also read: What the outrage over stray dogs says about the moral compass of middle-class Indians
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