The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance of rising rabies deaths from stray dog bites. The Court called the situation “extremely troubling” after a Times of India report.
New Delhi: Today, on July 28, the Supreme Court of India on Monday took serious note of the growing problem of stray dog attacks across the country, especially those resulting in rabies and deaths. The Court took suo motu (on its own) action after coming across a shocking news report published in the Times of India titled
“City hounded by strays and kids pay price”.
The article highlighted how children and elderly people are being badly affected by stray dog bites, many of which have led to rabies infections and even death.
A Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan was deeply concerned after reading the contents of the newspaper article.
The judges noted that the situation is becoming increasingly dangerous, particularly for vulnerable groups like infants and senior citizens.
While discussing the matter in court, the Bench remarked,
“This is a highly disturbing news report titled ‘City hounded by strays and kids pay price’. It contains extremely troubling details. There are reports of hundreds of dog bite incidents from both cities and peripheral areas, many of which have led to rabies infections. Ultimately, it is infants and senior citizens who are falling prey to this deadly disease.”
The Supreme Court bench found the facts of the news article so concerning that it decided to take legal action without waiting for anyone to file a petition.
This is called suo motu cognisance, where the court steps in on its own based on public interest or urgent matters affecting society.
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The Court directed the Registry to treat this matter as a suo motu writ petition and asked that the case file, along with a copy of the news report, be forwarded to the Chief Justice of India (CJI BR Gavai) for further directions.
The Bench made it clear by stating:
“We are taking suo motu cognisance. The registry has been directed to treat the matter as a suo motu writ petition and place the order along with the news report before the Chief Justice of India for necessary directions.”
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