New Delhi, Aug. 14 -- Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai on Wednesday assured that he would "look into" concerns over a recent Supreme Court directive mandating the mass capture and sheltering of stray dogs across Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). The matter was mentioned before the CJI by advocate Nanita Sharma, representing the NGO Conference for Human Rights (India). She pointed to an earlier judgment of the Supreme Court, delivered by a bench of justices JK Maheshwari and Sanjay Karol, which prohibited indiscriminate killing of community dogs and required authorities to follow the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules. "This is with regard to the community dogs issue. There is an earlier judgment of this court which says there cannot be indiscriminate killing of canines. compassion for all living beings has to be there," Sharma told the court. CJI Gavai noted that "the other bench has already passed orders" but assured, "I will look into this." On Monday, a bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan ordered civic bodies in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Gurugram to round up all stray dogs within eight weeks and house them in dedicated shelters. It barred the release of any captured animal back onto the streets, directed the creation of helplines for dog-bite complaints, and required that offending animals be picked up within four hours. The bench criticised the ABC Rules - specifically the provision allowing sterilised dogs to be returned to their locality - calling it "unreasonable and absurd." It also authorised contempt proceedings against anyone obstructing the capture drive. The order, however, has drawn sharp criticism from animal rights groups, who argue it ignores established humane protocols such as sterilisation, vaccination, and community feeding. They contend these measures, rather than mass confinement, are more effective in managing stray populations without causing undue suffering. Sharma referenced the Supreme Court's May 9, 2024, decision, where justices Maheshwari and Karol closed a long-pending batch of petitions on stray dog management. That judgment held there could be "no indiscriminate killings of canines" and that authorities must act within "the mandate and spirit" of the PCA Act and ABC Rules. It also underlined that compassion for animals is a constitutional value, and directed that future disputes be addressed before appropriate forums. Sharma was in court on an appeal against an August 2023 Delhi High Court ruling. The NGO had sought enforcement of PCA Act provisions and ABC Rules, including regular sterilisation, immunisation, and vaccination programmes. The high court disposed of the plea after noting status reports from civic bodies. According to Sharma, the August 11 directive stands at odds with the May 2024 order, both in spirit and legal mandate. Notably, CJI Gavai's assurance on Wednesday comes just days after his behind-the-scenes intervention in another contentious ruling by the same bench of justices Pardiwala and Mahadevan. On August 4, that bench had issued an unprecedented order barring an Allahabad High Court judge from hearing any criminal cases for the rest of his tenure. The decision sparked concerns over judicial overreach into high court administration. Following a letter from CJI Gavai requesting reconsideration, the bench rolled back the order last Friday. While hearing an unrelated case on Tuesday, CJI Gavai had underlined in open court that the country's top judge is not superior to the other 33 Supreme Court judges in judicial matters. "The CJI is not superior to other judges. He exercises the same judicial power like the other 33 judges of this court. The CJI is just the first among equals," CJI Gavai said. This bench was hearing the Union government's plea to recall an April 26, 2023 judgment in Ritu Chhabaria Vs Union of India, which held that an accused is entitled to default bail if the investigating agency files an incomplete charge sheet....