SC rejects plea against MCD's notice on Delhi's stray dogs
New Delhi, Aug. 22 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday refused urgent hearing on a plea challenging a notification issued by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for the mass capture and sheltering of stray dogs in Delhi.
The matter was mentioned before a bench of justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi by advocate Nanita Sharma, who sought an urgent listing. The bench, however, declined to pass any direction. This means that, for now, the August 11 order of a two-judge bench directing the rounding up of strays remains in operation, with no stay in place.
The August 11 order, issued by justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, had directed municipal authorities to begin capturing stray dogs from across Delhi and to create shelters with capacity for at least 5,000 animals within eight weeks. A detailed written order on the same day reiterated those directions and laid down welfare safeguards for animals kept in shelters. The directions quickly became contentious, drawing strong objections from animal welfare groups.
Following criticism and a plea pointing to inconsistencies with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai, in a rare administrative step, shifted the matter from the Justice Pardiwala bench to a larger three-judge bench led by Justice Vikram Nath. On August 14, the larger bench, also comprising justices Sandeep Mehta and d NV Anjaria, heard the matter at length and reserved its ruling on pleas seeking a stay of the August 11 order.
During the August 14 hearing, the Justice Nath bench rebuked the Delhi government and its civic bodies for failing to implement the very regulatory framework they had framed for managing stray-dog populations.
The courtroom saw sharply opposed positions. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi government, pressed the case for immediate intervention to protect people pointing to "shocking" instances of mutilation and fatal bites.
The three-judge bench reserved orders after asking pointed questions of the Delhi government on compliance with statutory rules....
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