CJI promises to ‘paw’ over plea as SC pushes stray dog relocation

Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Wednesday assured he would examine a plea concerning stray dogs after it was mentioned for urgent hearing in the Supreme Court by the Conference for Human Rights (India).

The CJI, sitting with Justice K Vinod Chandran, noted that another bench has already passed an order on the issue. On August 11, a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan termed the situation arising from dog bites “extremely grim” and ordered the permanent relocation of all strays in Delhi-NCR at the earliest.

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The plea claims that the Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rules, 2001, mandating regular sterilisation and immunisation to control the stray population, are not being followed. 

The August 11 order also directed the creation of shelters for around 5,000 canines within six to eight weeks and warned of strict action, including contempt proceedings, against anyone obstructing the relocation drive.

In May 2024, a bench led by Justice JK Maheshwari had relegated similar petitions to respective high courts.