SC orders permanent relocation of stray dogs from Delhi-NCR streets to shelters

New Delhi: Noting an "extremely grim" situation due to stray dog bites resulting in rabies, particularly among children, the Supreme Court on Monday directed Delhi-NCR authorities to permanently relocate all strays from streets to shelters "at the earliest".

Saying dog shelters will have to be augmented over time, the apex court directed Delhi authorities to start with creating shelters of around 5,000 canines within six to eight weeks.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan passed a slew of directions and warned of strict action against an individual or organisation in case of obstruction, which might also prompt the court to initiate contempt proceedings.

"If any individual or any organisation comes in the way of such force picking up stray dogs and rounding them up, and if it is reported to us, we shall proceed to take strict action against any such resistance which may be offered," the bench said.

The bench further remarked if the animal activists and "so-called lovers" would be able to bring back children who fell prey to rabies.

"Will they put life back to those children? When situation demands, you have to act," it said.

The top court was hearing a suo motu case initiated on July 28 over stray dog bites leading to rabies in the national capital.

The top court on Monday directed all the strays to be removed and put in shelters by the Delhi government and civic bodies of Gurugram, Noida and Ghaziabad.

It ordered dog shelters to have sufficient personnel to sterilise and immunise the dogs aside from looking after them. The centres would be under CCTV surveillance to ensure the dog remains in the facility.

Calling it a "progressive exercise", the top court suggested augmenting the number of dog shelters in future.

It said the authorities "shall at the earliest start picking up stray dogs from all localities, more particularly the vulnerable localities of the city as well as areas on the outskirts".

The bench went on, "How to do it is for the authorities to look into. For this, if they have to create a force they shall do it at the earliest." The bench underlined making the city and outskirts free of strays was the "first and foremost" exercise .

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, in the meantime, requested the bench to direct appropriate authorities of Noida, Gurugram and Ghaziabad to comply with the court's directions.

The bench agreed to the suggestion and said there should not be any compromise in undertaking the exercise.

The top court said it was issuing the directions only keeping the "larger public interest" in mind.

"Infants and young children should not at any cost fall prey to such dog bites leading to rabies. The action should inspire confidence in the mind of people, young and old, that they can move around freely on roads without any fear of being bitten by a stray dog," it said, suggesting against any sentiments in the exercise.

The bench directed the authorities to maintain a record of daily stray dogs captured and housed in shelters.

The record was directed to be produced before the next court hearing.

"However, what is important and without this perhaps the entire exercise which we have undertaken may go futile, is that not a single dog picked up from any part of the locality shall be released back on the streets/public spaces," the bench said, cautioning against any such occurrence.

Authorities were further directed to create a helpline within a week for immediate reporting of dog bite instances.

"Action must be taken to round up/pick up/catch the dog within four hours from the complaint being received," it said.

The authorities were directed to inform the victims of the medical facilities for quick assistance.

"Availability of rabies vaccines is a major concern, especially genuine vaccines. The authorities concerned, more particularly the government of NCT of Delhi, is directed to put detailed information about the places where such vaccines are available, the stock of vaccines and the number of persons who report for treatment on monthly basis," the top court said.

The bench said the directions have to be complied with and implemented scrupulously.

While posting the matter for hearing after six weeks, the bench asked the authorities to file status report.