• By Raju Kumar
  • Thu, 14 Aug 2025 11:18 AM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Stray Dogs Case: A bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its ruling on the top court order to remove stray dogs from Delhi-NCR, which triggered a massive row. A three-judge bench of the top court, comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria heard the arguments made by the stakeholders.

Children Are Dying, Issue Needs To Be Resolved: Delhi Government Tells SC

The Delhi government told the top court that children are dying due to dog bites causing rabies, and the issue of stray dogs needs to be resolved and not to be contested. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi government, told a three-judge bench that there were over 37 lakh reported dog bites in an year in the country.

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Nobody Is An Animal Hater: Solicitor General

"Nobody is an animal hater," the Solicitor General told the SC, asserting children are unable to go out to play in the open.

"The court will have to find a solution. A vocal minority view as against the silent suffering majority view," he added.

Situation Is "Very Serious": Sibal

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for an NGO which looks after dogs, said the situation was "very serious". The matter was needed to be argued in depth, he asserted.

Demand To Stay On August 11 Order

Sibal sought a stay on some of the directions passed by the apex court on August 11, including the directions to the authorities in Delhi-NCR to start picking up stray dogs from all localities "at the earliest" and relocate the animals to dog shelters.

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On August 11, a two-judge bench of the apex court had directed the authorities to immediately create dog shelters or pounds and report to it about the creation of such infrastructure within eight weeks. It had said stray dogs would be detained in shelters and not be released on streets, colonies or public places.

Here Are The Highlights Of The Hearing

- Mehta told the Supreme Court that children are dying. Sterilisation does not stop rabies, even if you immunise them; that does not stop the mutilation of children.

- The Solicitor General presented data before the top court, saying 37 lakh dog bites were reported in the country in 2024. Rabies deaths were 305 deaths for the same year, WHO's modelling shows a much higher number. Nobody is an animal hater.

-  He said children are unable to go out to play in the open. The court will have to find a solution. A vocal minority view as against the silent suffering majority view.

(With PTI inputs)