Stray dogs case: Larger, three-judge bench to hear the matter amid backlash

The Supreme Court of India has appointed a newly constituted, larger, three-judge bench to hear the matter. This development follows the court's stern directives earlier this week for the immediate relocation of stray dogs to shelters.

The new bench, comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria, is set to hear multiple petitions related to the stray dog issue. These include a suo motu case and fresh pleas challenging the order to round up strays. "The judges who passed the order are not part of the bench," the court noted, highlighting a change in the judicial panel.

Previously, a bench led by Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan had ordered the permanent relocation of stray dogs "at the earliest" due to what was described as an "extremely grim" situation resulting from instances of dog bites. This decision prompted widespread protests and subsequent legal challenges.

On August 11, the Supreme Court directed civic authorities across Delhi and NCR to catch, sterilise, and relocate stray dogs to newly created shelters. These shelters, which must be established within eight weeks, are required to have adequate facilities for sterilisation, deworming, and immunisation. The shelters will also be monitored by CCTV to prevent the release of dogs back onto the streets.

The court emphasised it’s "sympathetic to their lives as well", ensuring that the dogs "should not be subjected to cruelty, mistreatment, or starvation" and "should at no point be left completely unmonitored." It stressed the importance of adequate feeding and medical care, with provisions for separate housing for vulnerable animals.

In addition to creating shelters for approximately 5,000 dogs initially, the court discussed the potential for adoption schemes. However, authorities were warned that "no such adoption should result in the re-release of a stray dog back onto the streets" and cautioned that "if we find even a single infraction of such kind, we will proceed to take the strictest of action against the official responsible as well as the individual."

After petitioners raised concerns about the earlier bench, the Chief Justice of India, B R Gavai, stated he "will look into it" before the matter was shifted to this new bench.