SC of India allows euthanasia of dangerous stray dogs amid rising rabies threat

NewDelhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to recall its earlier directions that stray dogs picked up from public places like hospitals, bus stands, schools, railway stations etc., must not be released to the same place after vaccination/sterilisation. The bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice NV Anjaria dismissed a bunch of applications seeking modifications to the directions issued by the Court in November last year. In other words, the stray dogs picked up by authorities from the premises of public places must be confined to shelters.

The Court also dismissed applications challenging the Standard Operating Procedure issued by the Animal Welfare Board of India. In the judgment pronounced today, the Court referred to reports about "deeply disturbing incidents" of dog attacks against children. Young children have been mauled, old people attacked, and even international travellers have faced dog attacks. The Court blamed the State authorities for failing in their duty to protect the lives of the people from dog attacks."The menace of dog bites has extended to public places of critical areas, including airports and residential areas," the Court noted, after referring to various news reports. The Court said that the problem had a "staggering dimension" and the "continued recurrence of such incidents" reflected a deficiency in the implementation of the directions. The Court directed that erring officials, who fail to carry out the directions, will be liable to contempt and disciplinary action.

The judgment authored by Justice Mehta stated : "Article 21 necessarily encompasses the right of every citizen to move and access public places without living under a constant apprehension of physical attack or exposure to life-threatening events such as dog bites in public areas. The state cannot remain a passive spectator where preventable threats to human life continue to proliferate in the face of statutory mechanisms specifically designed to address them. Also Read - Doctor Can't Enrol As Advocate Unless Registration As Medical Practitioner Is Cancelled : Kerala High Court This Court cannot remain oblivious to the deeply disturbing ground realities emerging from various parts of the country where young children and elderly persons have been attacked, ordinary citizens have been left vulnerable in public places, and even international travellers have fallen to such incidents. The Constitution of India does not envisage a society where children, elderly persons and vulnerable citizens are compelled to survive at the mercy of physical strength, chance or circumstance due to failure of the state machinery...."