Revealed: What prompted the Supreme Court’s suo motu stray dog order

New Delhi: A day after directing the permanent relocation of all stray dogs from Delhi NCR to shelters, the Supreme Court issued a circular within its own complex asking that every bit of leftover food be dumped only in covered bins.

The note cited a “significant” rise in stray dogs roaming court corridors and even entering lifts, and warned that open food attracts animals and raises the risk of bites.

The Bench of Justices J. B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan moved suo motu, and within 24 hours the Court flagged dogs at its own doorstep. If the concern were national safety or rabies at scale, the order would have set standards for cities across India. Instead, it singled out Delhi NCR, the Court’s backyard. The order reads less like a countrywide plan and more like a reaction to what the Court saw on its premises.

What the order says is clear. The Court called the bite situation “extremely grim” and told authorities to permanently relocate all strays in Delhi NCR at the earliest.

It said shelters would have to be augmented over time and asked Delhi to begin by creating space for around 5,000 dogs in six to eight weeks. It warned that anyone obstructing the drive could face strict action, even contempt.

What changed is equally clear. The Court’s own circular focused on food disposal, corridors, lifts, and hygiene inside the Supreme Court. That is where the risk was felt. The geography of the order gives the rest away. A city-specific sweep is not the same as a public health blueprint.

It may be uncomfortable, but dogs reaching the Supreme Court’s doors appear to be a clear reason behind punishing dogs across Delhi NCR. Such a big move, which may involve hundreds of crores in investment to build shelters, just because a few stray dogs trespassed on the Supreme Court’s premises, is telling.

Had the concern been broader, the directive would have covered more than Delhi NCR.