India, Jan. 8 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday said that dogs can "smell" people who are afraid of them or have previously suffered a dog bite and attack such people, adding that it had not directed the removal of every dog from the streets

A three-judge special bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria, while hearing arguments in the stray dogs case, clarified that the directive was to treat these stray canines according to the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules.

The top court is hearing a suo motu case, initiated on July 28 last year, over a media report on stray dog bites leading to rabies, particularly among children, in the national capital.

The Supreme Court bench was hearing pleas, including those filed ...