New Delhi: A new three-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday heard an interim plea requesting a stay on the suo motu directive of the top court regarding the removal of stray dogs in Delhi-NCR. The bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria reserved its order on the matter.
The top court blamed local authorities for the problem of stray dogs. Meanwhile, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Central Government, said that the issue should be resolved and not to be contested. The top court reserved the order.
Here's What The Supreme Court Bench Said:
"Local authorities are not doing what they should be doing. They should be here taking responsibility. Everyone who has come here to file an intervention should take responsibility," Justice Nath said.
When Additional Solicitor General Archana Pathak Dave told the court that she was representing the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Justice Nath said, "What is your stand? This is happening because of the inaction of the Municipal Corporation."
The bench also questioned the authorities why in several areas, they started picking up the animals even before the August 11 order became public, reported NDTV.
What Solicitor General Tushar Mehta Said?
Mehta backed the SC's August 11 order. He said, "There is a very loud vocal minority and a silent suffering majority."
"I have seen people posting videos of eating meat, etc and then claiming to be animal lovers," he added.
Mehta highlighted that over 37 lakh dog bites were reported in India in a year. "Thirty-seven lakhs a year, 10,000 per day. This is dog bites. Rabies deaths - 305 deaths for the same year, WHO's modelling shows much higher number,” Live Law quoted the SG as saying.
He further added that nobody is an animal hater.
The SG also stated that children are not able to play in open due to the stray dog menace.
What Kapil Sibal Said?
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for an NGO which looks after dogs, said the situation was "very serious" and the matter was needed to be argued in depth.
Sibal sought a stay on some of the directions passed by the apex court on August 11, including the directions to the authorities in Delhi-NCR to start picking up stray dogs from all localities "at the earliest" and relocate the animals to dog shelters.
What Abhishek Manu Singhvi said?
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the two-judge bench that passed the order on stray dogs ignored six earlier judgments. He highlighted that six orders of the supreme court say that ABC Rules should be followed and sterilize dogs in a humane manner and rehabilitated them, as reported by Live Law.
On August 11, a bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan directed that all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR should be picked up from residential localities within eight weeks and taken to dedicated dog shelters. The top court also said that if any organisation tried to hamper this exercise, it would face strict action.
