During a heated Supreme Court hearing Today (Aug 14), Solicitor General Tushar Mehta highlighted shocking figures on stray dog bites and rabies deaths, stressing that children’s lives are at risk. The Bench is examining whether to stay the controversial August 11 stray dog removal order.
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NEW DELHI: A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court — Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria — is hearing a high-stakes case on removing stray dogs from Delhi’s streets.
The hearing stems from a suo motu case and two other petitions — one challenging the August 11 order and another appealing a Delhi High Court ruling on sterilization.
On August 11, another Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan had ordered removal of all stray dogs from public places in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and Faridabad, shifting them to shelters and banning their release back to the streets. This was in response to repeated rabies deaths and attacks. The court warned that anyone obstructing the process could face contempt action.
The move triggered widespread protests by animal rights activists, who claimed it violated earlier Supreme Court orders. The matter is now before the current Bench.
Main highlight — SG Tushar Mehta’s plea for urgent action
Representing the Government of India, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta made an emotional appeal to the court, saying:
“In a democracy there is one is vocal majority and one who silently suffers. We have seen videos of ones eating chicken egg etc and then claiming to be animal lovers. It’s an issue to be resolved.. Children are dying. I would request to show.. the videographs of children dying. Second option was sterlisation, but sterlisation does not stop rabies. It does not stop mutilisation of children … Look at the figures. 37 lakhs a year, 10,000 a day – this is dog bites (SG reads a newspaper report). Kindly see rabies deaths.”
He stressed that nobody was calling for killing dogs, but segregation was essential.
Citing WHO data, he said:
“305 deaths a year. Most of children are under age group of 15. Nobody is a animal hater. Out of 100 species … only 4 are poisonous .. We don’t keep them at home. Dogs do not have to be killed.. they have to be separated. Parents cannot send children out to play. Young girls are mutilated.”
SG Mehta added:
“Solution not in rules.. Court has to intervene.. this is vocal minority view vs silent majority suffering view.”
Counter arguments from animal rights side
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal opposed the August 11 order, saying:
“This is first time I hear SG saying that laws are in place but it need not be followed. ABC rules are there and parliamentary legislation is there but let it not be dealt with. Question is to who is to comply with it. Question is has the Municipal corporation built shelter homes.. has the dogs been sterilised? Money has been siphoned off. No shelters are there. Such orders passed suo motu. No notice … They are picking up dogs, where will they go? Order says, do not release them. This is a very serious situation, this needs to be argued in depth. My only request, this order be stayed.”
Justice Vikram Nath:
“Show us the part of the order which is offending to you. We cannot spend the whole day on this.. show that to us.”
Sibal argued there were no shelters to house the dogs:
“What kind of shelters, what should they accommodate – this are issues to be discussed.. There are no shelters, there is no question of putting dogs in shelters.. Now direction 4 – stray dogs to be captured, sterlised, dewormed and not put back – where will they go? So this can’t be implemented, so direction 4 has to be stayed. So direction 1 and 4 be stayed.”
He warned:
“What they are doing now? They are going and picking up dogs. Where will they go? They will be culled … And there was a situation, dogs who do not have enough space in shelter attack each other, spreads pestilence – this affects humans also … At this point in time, there is legislation. If there is concerns, lordships will take care of it, so that when sterlisation is done, there is no multiplication of dogs. This is how it is done in other countries. I am representing Project Kindness. We are an NGO that looks after dogs.”
“700 dogs, they already picked up. God only knows where they have gone..”
Court:
“Order was uploaded only yesterday evening”
Sibal:
“Yes, and they were picked up and they will be killed”
ALSO READ: BREAKING | Lawyer Slaps Dog Lover Outside Supreme Court: Watch Viral Video Here
Other senior lawyers join in
Siddharth Luthra:
“Other High Courts have now started passing orders.”
AM Singhvi:
“With the best of intentions, all directions put cart before horse. If there were dog pounds, shelters, the directions would make sense … Directions 1, 2, 4 are directions that should be saved, that should be enough.. We are all concerned about society.. SG Mehta did preemptive prejudice. There is a problem about dog bites, but Lordships would be surprised to know, parliamentary data said there is 0 rabies deaths in Delhi, Goa, Rajasthan from 2022-25… Dog bites are bad, but you cannot create a horror situation like this. Government should look at its own data from house of parliament from two weeks ago.. The order completely ignores detailed earlier orders… They said, follow ABC rules strictly, sterlise, humanely manage…”
“Well meaning orders sometimes go beyond the law. All previous 6 orders of supreme Court says follow ABC rules, in a humane manner sterilise them, and then rehabilitate. 2d, 2j, 3(11) 3(16) ABC rules are violated.”
Sidharth Luthra:
“Nobody from NGO, etc. were able to place anything on record. Take that material from us.”
Justice Nath:
“We are only on the stay part”
Aman Lekhi:
“Unauthenticated videos were relied on and a rushed order passed thereafter.”
Colin Gonsalves:
“Population in Nizamuddin East has come down from 100 to 60. When you vaccinate and sterilise population comes down. In 10 years the streets can be free of stray dogs. The municipal corporation has failed to do it..”
The hearing is still in progress.
READ LIVE COVERAGE:
YESTERDAY IN CJI’s BENCH
NEW DELHI: In the Supreme Court, the long-debated issue of stray dogs once again came up for discussion yesterday (Aug 13).
The matter was raised by an advocate who highlighted the court’s earlier judgment on community dogs.
The advocate said:
“This is with regard to community dogs issue… There is an earlier judgment of this court which says there cannot be indiscriminate killing of canines of which Justice Karol was a part of… which says compasion for all living beings has to be there.”
In response, Chief Justice of India BR Gavai pointed out that another bench had already passed certain orders in the matter.
He said:
“But the other judge bench has already passed orders. I will look into this.”
Notably, just a few days earlier, on August 11, 2025, a bench led by Justice JB Pardiwala had directed that:
“All stray dogs in Delhi NCR shall be taken to dog shelters without exceptions.”
This issue continues to attract legal, public health, and animal rights concerns. The earlier judgment, as recalled by the advocate, emphasised that stray or community dogs cannot be killed indiscriminately, and that compassion towards all living beings is a guiding principle under Indian law.
At the same time, civic authorities and residents have been urging for effective population control and safety measures, especially in urban areas like Delhi-NCR where human-dog conflicts have been reported.
The CJI’s remark indicates that the matter may be revisited in light of earlier judgments and the more recent directions by another bench, which could lead to a harmonised approach balancing animal welfare with public safety.
ORIGINAL ORDER OF APEX COURT
The Supreme Court of India on Monday (Aug 11) gave strict orders to the Delhi Government, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to immediately start removing stray dogs from every locality of Delhi, starting with the most vulnerable areas and cities.
A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan made it clear that no locality should have stray dogs roaming around and there should be absolutely no compromise in this work.
“NCT Delhi, MCD, NMDC shall at earlier start picking up stray dogs from all localities from more particularly vulnerable localities and cities. How to do it is for the authorities to look into and if they have to create a force, do it at earlier. However, this should be the first and foremost exercise to make all localities free of stray dogs. There should not be any compromise in undertaking any exercise,”
-the Bench said.
The judges also warned that anyone trying to stop or create problems in this work will face strict legal action from the court.
“If any individual or organization that comes in the way of picking stray dogs or rounding them up, we will proceed to take action against any such resistance,”
-the Court added.
Along with removal, the Court ordered the Delhi Government, MCD, and NDMC to create proper dog shelters with enough staff to sterilise and vaccinate the animals.
These shelters must also be monitored through CCTV cameras.
“The State of NCT Delhi, MCD and NDMC is directed to create dog shelters and report this Court creation of such infrastructure within 8 weeks. The dog shelters should have sufficient staff to sterilize and immunize. The dog shelter would be monitored by CCTV,”
-the order said.
The Bench also took a strong stand against certain animal rights activists, questioning their role when rabies cases are causing deaths.
“All these animal activists, will they be able bring back who have fallen prey to rabies,”
– the Bench demanded.
The judges further explained that this order is being passed purely for public safety and should be implemented without emotional or sentimental objections.
“We are not doing this for us—it is for the public interest. so no sentiments of any nature should be involved. Action should be taken at the earlier. Pick up dogs from all localities and shift them to far off places,”
-the Bench orally remarked.
The Supreme Court was hearing a suo motu case it had started on its own after repeated incidents of rabies infections and deaths caused by stray dog attacks.
Here are the top statements made by the Supreme Court while pronouncing the judgement:
- We need to pick up round up with whatever means to ensure dog free locality and that’s how children and aged will feel safe.
- Have you seen the classic good, bad and the ugly- when you want to shoot, shoot don’t talk. It’s not the time to talk but act. All these so-called animal lovers, will they be able to bring back those children who have given their lives?
- Municipal Corporation of Delhi is directed to make dog shelters and report about creation of infrastructure within eight weeks. It must have sufficient personnel for sterilised, dogs who would be detained there and not released in public places. It will be monitored by CCTV to monitor that no dogs are taken out.
- Infants and young children, not at any cost, should fall prey of rabies. The action should inspire confidence that they can move freely without fear of being bitten by stray dogs. No sentiments should be involved.
- Create helpline within 1 week so that all cases of dog bites and rabies are reported. Action should be taken within 4 hours to pick up dog after complaint is received and any action of individual or organisation coming in the way will be taken with stern action. The said dog will be sterilised and shall not be released.
CASE TITLE:
IN RE: CITY HOUNDED BY STRAYS, KIDS PAY PRICE
SMW(C) No. 5/2025
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