The Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the Indore Municipal Corporation to urgently remove stray dogs from major tourist areas like Chhappan Dukan and Sarafa. The Court warned that the Municipal Commissioner may be summoned if the action report and sterilisation data are not satisfactory.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the Indore Municipal Corporation to immediately carry out a “top priority” special drive to remove stray dogs from important public places in Indore, especially popular tourist areas such as Chhappan Dukan and Sarafa Bazaar.
A Division Bench of Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi passed the directions while hearing a public interest litigation.
The Court also asked the Municipal Corporation to submit an action report before January 13, along with complete data related to the sterilisation of stray dogs in the city.
The Bench clearly warned the authorities that strict action may follow if the Court is not satisfied with the steps taken.
The Court said,
“If we find that action report is not satisfactory, we may direct personal appearance of the Commissioner,Municipal Corporation, Indore,”
The petition before the High Court was filed as a PIL seeking removal of livestock such as cattle, sheep and goats from public places within the city limits of Indore to protect public safety and greenery. During the hearing, the issue of stray dogs was also raised as a serious concern.
Earlier, the High Court had directed the State Government to inform it about the steps taken by the Indore Municipal Corporation for dealing with stray dogs, in accordance with the directions issued by the Supreme Court in November this year.
On December 19, the State counsel informed the Court that certain steps had been taken by the Municipal Corporation to deal with both stray cattle and stray dogs. It was also submitted that the Corporation was continuously working towards removing stray cattle from different parts of the city.
However, the counsel appearing for the intervenors in the PIL strongly argued that the problem of stray dogs had become serious across the entire city. It was submitted that many cases of dog bites were being reported regularly, causing fear and inconvenience to residents as well as visitors.
After considering these submissions, the High Court directed the Indore Municipal Corporation to strictly comply with its earlier orders as well as the directions issued by the Supreme Court on the issue of stray animals.
To ensure proper implementation of the directions, the Court further ordered,
The Court directed,
“In order to ensure proper compliance of the directions, we direct that Commissioner, Municipal Corporation will hold the meeting of concerned officers of the Corporation and also to prepare an action plain in this regard. The meeting shall be fixed within 10 days from today,”
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Advocate Gagan Bajad appeared on behalf of the petitioner. Senior Advocate Piyush Mathur, along with Advocate Madhusudan Dwivedi, assisted the Court as amicus curiae. Government Advocate Bhuwan Gautam represented the State of Madhya Pradesh, while Advocates Kirti Patwardhan and Manish Yadav appeared for the respondent and intervenors in the matter.
The case highlights growing judicial concern over the issue of stray animals in urban areas and the need for local bodies to take effective and timely action to ensure public safety and compliance with court orders.
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