Supreme Court summons Chief Secretaries of States in stray dogs matter

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Chief Secretaries of all States except West Bengal, Delhi and Telangana to remain present before it for failing to file compliance affidavits in the suo motu matter related to the issue of stray dogs..The Bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria said that if the officers are not present on the next date of hearing, costs will be imposed or coercive steps will be taken. "Didn't the officers read newspapers or social media? Haven't they read...even if they are not served they should have been here. All Chief Secretaries to be present here on Nov 3 ... We will hold court in auditorium," the bench said..The Court had earlier directed the States to inform it about the compliance of Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023. However, the Court today found that only three States - West Bengal, Delhi and Telangana - had filed compliance affidavits.The Court also remarked that incidents pertaining to the stray dogs were continuing unabated."Continuous incidents are happening and the image of the country is being shown as down in the eyes of foreign nations. We are also reading news reports," Justice Nath remarked.When a counsel referred to the cruelty against dogs, the Court said,"What about the cruelty towards humans?" The Court also took exception to an increasing number of people or groups seeking to intervene in the matter."Also if all RWA wants to be party... how many crores of parties we will have here before us. Make suggestions which are reasonable," it said.."What about the cruelty towards humans?"Supreme Court.The issue concerning stray dogs hogged the limelight after the a Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan on August 11 ordered municipal authorities in Delhi to begin rounding up stray dogs from all areas, prioritising vulnerable localities, and to establish shelters with an initial capacity of at least 5,000 dogs within eight weeks.The order prohibited the re-release of dogs back to the streets, mandated sterilisation, immunisation and de-worming, and required that shelters be equipped with CCTV, adequate staff, food and medical care.The Court in that order also slammed animal activists and cautioned against “virtue signalling” by animal lovers. The order prompted widespread protests by animal rights activists..The case was then assigned to a three-judge bench headed by Justice Nath. The three-judge bench on August 22 modified the August 11 order. The Court ordered that the dogs shall be released from dog shelters after being dewormed and vaccinated. It also expanded the scope of the matter pan-India and transferred related petitions pending before High Courts to itself..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.