'Not closing stray dogs case today': Supreme Court reserves verdict on August 11 suo motu order

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on the interim plea seeking a stay on the suo motu order in the stray dogs matter. The top court clarified that it is not closing the stray dogs case and is only examining whether urgent orders or a stay are necessary. 

The top court bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria will also determine whether an interim stay is needed on the directions issued in the suo motu order on August 11.

The bench was hearing a bunch of petitions related to the stray dog issue, including a suo motu case and fresh pleas challenging the order to round up stray dogs. 

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that no one is an animal hater. He added that nobody is calling for the dogs to be killed, but they need to be separated from human habitation as they pose a safety threat, especially to children and the elderly.  

"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," S-G Mehta was quoted as saying by India Today on animal rights activists. 

Meanwhile, senior advocate Kapil Sibal warned that the dogs being picked up after the top court's order have nowhere to go and they may injure each other when put in overcrowded shelters. 

Sibal also sought a direction that dogs should not be picked up. He demanded that a stay be granted and time be given to file replies.

The top court bench questioned how dogs were being collected already, adding that the order was uploaded only yesterday evening. 

The bench also said that the matter was listed for urgent mention and that time could not be devoted only on this issue.

On August 11, a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan ordered the relocation of stray dogs "at the earliest" due to rising cases of dog bites and rabies. The top court directed civic authorities across Delhi-NCR to catch, sterilise, and relocate stray dogs to newly created shelters. 

These shelters must be established within 8 weeks and must have proper facilities for sterilisation, deworming and immunisation. The shelters will also be monitored by CCTV to prevent releasing the dogs back onto the streets. 

Targeting animal rights, the bench asked: "All these animal activists, will they be able to bring back those who have fallen prey to rabies?"