SC order on stray dogs balances public safety rights of animals Top law panel official

New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI) The Supreme Court has adopted a "balanced approach" in its directions on the stray dogs issue which neither disregards the rights of animals nor minimises the legitimate concerns of citizens, a top Law Commission official has said.
     Effective coordination across municipal bodies, health departments and state authorities will determine whether these judicial directions translate into safer cities and humane, long-term solutions, without slipping into cruelty or chaos, the official underlined.
    Speaking to PTI, Member Secretary to the 23rd Law Commission Anju Rathi Rana said the Supreme Court’s orders in this case reflect a "renewed judicial emphasis" on how India manages stray animals, an issue spanning public health, municipal administration and animal welfare.
    Rana, a former Union law secretary, noted that after taking suo motu cognisance of escalating dog bite incidents and related risks reported in the media, the top court modified earlier instructions and directed compliance with the Animal Birth Control Rules (ABC), 2023 for capture, sterilisation, deworming and vaccination of stray dogs.
     "These measures remain the core nationally mandated framework for humane population control. Under the ABC Rules, 2023, stray dogs are to be sterilised, vaccinated and returned to the same localities from which they were picked up, establishing a rule-based ecosystem rather than ad hoc removal," the senior Indian Legal Service officer said
    The November 2025 order, she pointed out, introduced a differentiated approach for institutional areas (schools, hospitals, transport hubs and similar public premises) where human safety risks are elevated.
     Municipal authorities are directed to remove stray dogs found within these premises, sterilise and vaccinate them, and then shift them to designated shelters instead of releasing them back to the same locations.
     "The order’s architecture is also wider than 'dog management'. It requires a nationwide status report and uniform SOPs formulated through Animal Welfare Board of India (which has since circulated an SOP for institutional premises).
     "The order also requires appointment of nodal officers, quarterly inspections, and defines accountability for municipal bodies to ensure compliance," she said.
     In addition, the SC mandated that all government and private hospitals maintain a mandatory stock of anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) and rabies immunoglobulin (RIG) at all times, and that awareness measures be incorporated into institutional safety planning.
    "More recently, in the January 2026 hearings, the apex court has signalled a firmer enforcement vocabulary around accountability and the possibility of heavy compensation for state inaction or injury caused by stray dog incidents. Judicial remarks have suggested examining liability for authorities and even feeders in cases of serious bites or deaths.
    "This is not a final holding, but it is a notable shift in the court's framing of enforcement," she opined.
    She said what emerges from the court's approach is a balanced framework and one that neither disregards the rights of animals nor minimises legitimate concerns of citizens.
     Effective coordination across municipal bodies, health departments and state authorities will determine whether these judicial directions translate into safer cities and humane, long-term solutions, without slipping into cruelty or chaos, Rana felt.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)