The
Supreme Court on Thursday refused to grant an urgent hearing on a plea
challenging a notification issued by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)
regarding the rounding up of stray dogs, reported news agency PTI.
Advocate
Nanita Sharma mentioned the matters before the apex court, submitting that the
MCD notification was issued despite the court having reserved orders in related
proceedings.
However,
a Bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi declined to entertain the
request.
The Supreme Court, on August 11,
ordered the authorities in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) to start
removing stray dogs from all localities “at the earliest” and relocate them to
shelters.
The order required the creation
of shelters with an initial capacity of 5,000 dogs within eight weeks. It also
mandated sterilisation, immunisation, de-worming, CCTV monitoring of the
canines, along with a helpline to report dog bites and the capture of the dogs
within four hours of a complaint.
A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala
and R Mahadevan, while passing the order, observed that the menace of dog bites
violates the fundamental rights of citizens under Articles 19(1)(d) and 21,
reported Bar and Bench. The court also prohibited the
re-release of captured animals on the streets, cautioning animal rights
activists against “virtue signalling” and warning that obstructing municipal
action would amount to contempt.
The ruling drew protests from animal rights groups and dog lovers, after which
a new three-judge Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria
heard the petitions challenging it and reserved its order.
While reserving the order, the top court slammed the local authorities,
stating, "This is happening because of the inaction of the Municipal
Corporation. The government does nothing. The local authorities do
nothing".