Supreme Court Orders Fencing of Public Spaces, Removal of Stray Dogs from Highways
In a significant directive aimed at curbing the growing menace of stray dog attacks, the Supreme Court on Friday ordered that public spaces such as educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands, depots, and railway stations must be properly fenced to prevent the entry of stray dogs. The three-judge bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria issued the order in the suo motu Stray Dogs matter, citing the “alarming rate of dog-bite incidents.”
The court further instructed all state governments and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to remove stray animals from highways. It made clear that local self-government institutions will be responsible for identifying and relocating stray dogs to designated shelters after vaccination and sterilisation, in line with the Animal Birth Control Rules. Importantly, the apex court specified that stray dogs should not be released back into the same areas from which they were taken, as doing so would defeat the purpose of ensuring public safety.
The court also directed authorities to conduct periodic inspections to ensure no stray habitats exist within these premises. This ruling follows earlier directions from a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, which had taken suo motu cognisance of the issue after a report in The Times of India highlighted rising dog-bite incidents in Delhi and neighbouring cities.
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