By Khabar Rojana 
The Supreme Court said it has heard the matter and is extending it to cover the entire country. It will issue notices to all state governments and transfer all pending cases in High Courts to itself.
The Supreme Court has revised its earlier directive on stray dogs, allowing them to be released from shelters after vaccination and returned to their original locations. Dogs exhibiting aggressive behaviour or infected with rabies must first be immunised, a three-judge bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria stated.
Previously, the court had ordered the removal of all stray dogs from the streets of Delhi-NCR, aiming to make the region stray-free. However, following strong opposition from animal rights activists and celebrities, the court agreed to review the decision and reserved its order earlier this week.
On August 11, a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan had directed authorities to relocate all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR to shelters within eight weeks, citing the alarming rise in dog bite incidents, rabies cases, and related deaths. According to government data, at least 37 lakh dog bites and 54 suspected rabies deaths were recorded in 2024.
What Supreme Court said in its order:
- Two-judge bench’s directions are now applicable across India. All related cases were transferred to the Supreme Court.
The earlier order by the two-judge bench restricting stray dogs remains, but a comprehensive approach is needed, so the directions have been modified.
Except for the directive prohibiting municipal officials from releasing stray dogs, all other instructions must be followed. Dogs with rabies or aggressive behaviour should not be released, while others may be allowed.
Designate special feeding areas for stray dogs within municipal wards. Under no circumstances should dogs be fed on public streets. Any violation will attract legal action.
All dog lovers and NGOs who approached the court must deposit Rs 25,000 and Rs 2,00,000, respectively for dog shelters.
The court stated that anyone found feeding stray dogs on public streets will face action under the applicable legal provisions.
Expanding the matter to a pan-India level, the bench included all states and Union Territories as parties and transferred to itself all petitions on stray dogs currently pending before various high courts.
The case has been scheduled for hearing after eight weeks. This order was passed on an interim plea seeking a stay on the directions issued on August 11.