Supreme Court reserves order on pleas challenging round up of stray dogs, raps local authorities for 'inaction'
PTC News Desk: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on petitions challenging its August 11 verdict directing the rounding up of all animals in Delhi-NCR.
The top court came down heavily over civic authorities for their inaction on the stray dog menace and for not implementing guidelines for animal control, leading to this situation.
"Parliament frames rules and laws, but are not implemented. Local authorities are not doing what they should be doing. They should be here taking responsibility," a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria, said.
Appearing for the Delhi government, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta pointed to stray dog attacks on children, leading to injury and rabies deaths. "Children are dying. Sterilisation does not stop rabies," he said.
Mehta argued that "no one hates animals". "There are four poisonous species among 100. We don't keep them at home. Dogs do not have to be killed; they have to be separated," he said, citing government data of 37 lakh dog bite cases last year. "Parents cannot send their children out to play. Young girls are mutilated," he argued. The solution, he said, is not in the rules. "The court has to intervene."
The top court in its August 11 order, which triggered a massive outrage especially among dog lovers, directed the civic authorities to round up stray dogs and shift them to shelter homes with sterilisation, within eight weeks.
On Thursday, the three-judge bench said it would see if any urgent orders or a stay on the August 11 verdict was needed.
"On one hand, humans are suffering and, on the other hand, the animal lovers are here," the court said.
- PTC NEWS
