Stray dogs: Kerala HC to monitor implementation of Supreme Court directions every month

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday said that it would monitor on a monthly basis whether local authorities are implementing the Supreme Court's directions on stray dogs across the State. [In Re: Compliance with the directions issued by the Supreme Court in Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No(s) 5 of 2025 v The State of Kerala & ors].A Division Bench of Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Preeta AK said that the suo motu case would be taken up on the third Thursday of every month at 1:45 PM..The present suo motu case was initiated by the High Court pursuant to the May 19 judgment of the Supreme Court on stray dogs. The Supreme Court had directed all High Courts in the country to register suo motu proceedings to continuously monitor the implementation of its directions.The directions dealt with, among other things, sterilisation and vaccination of stray dogs, implementation of Animal Birth Control (ABC) programmes, creation of shelters and measures for dealing with rabid and aggressive dogs.Pursuant to the directions, the Kerala government constituted a High-Level Monitoring Committee to oversee compliance, by an order dated August 31, 2026.While hearing the matter, the Court directed the committee to collect and tabulate details regarding compliance by each local authority and file a report before the Court by the 10th of every month until further orders..The Court also said that the committee must submit compliance reports separately classifying local authorities based on whether there was full compliance, part compliance or no compliance of the Supreme Court directions.It added that in cases of part compliance, the report should specify what remains to be done and the reasons for the same, while in cases where their is no compliance, the committee should mention the action being taken against such local authority for non-compliance.The Court also sought information on whether stray dog management committees (SDMCs) have been constituted in each local authority."The other one is with regard to the Standard Operating Procedure with regard to dogs, euthanasia of dogs, rabid animals, the ones which are ferocious, etc. Details with regard to how many have been euthanised in each of these panchayats. So there is some accountability," Justice Nambiar said.The Court stressed that if the committee identifies specific instance of non-compliance without justifiable reasons, the concerned local authorities would be called before the Court and action would be initiated against them..Municipal corporations and other local authorities were asked to obtain specific instructions on whether they have complied with the Supreme Court directions, including the steps taken to provide dog shelters, relocation of stray dogs to secure areas and the implementation of the ABC programme."The Court cannot go and find out what is happening in each panchayat, so your reports are critical," Justice Nambiar said..During the hearing, the Court separately questioned Kochi Corporation on the arrangements made for stray dogs caught within its limits. When the existing arrangements at Brahmapuram were discussed, Justice Nambiar asked the Corporation to explore alternative premises, observing that the facility may not be sufficient to accommodate the number of dogs being caught across the city.He urged the Corporation to identify suitable locations away from residential areas for housing the dogs and asked them to find out whether any areas are available near Willingdon Island for such purpose.Municipal corporations, including those of Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, have been asked to obtain specific instructions on the measures taken to manage stray dogs within their respective local bodies.The matter will be heard next on October 29..[Read Order].[Read live coverage]