Stray dogs case: SC declines virtual appearance for Chief Secretaries, says States ‘sleeping over orders’

The Supreme Court on Friday (October 31, 2025) declined to exempt Chief Secretaries of States and Union Territories from personally appearing before it to explain their failure to submit affidavits in compliance with its August 22 directive mandating the sterilisation, deworming, and immunisation of stray dogs in accordance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

Rejecting Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta’s request to permit virtual appearances, a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said: “No, let them come physically. It is very unfortunate that the court grants time, the government frames rules, and yet no action follows. They are sleeping over the court’s orders. There is no respect for them. Let the Chief Secretaries come and explain.”

Emphasising that it would not dilute its earlier directive, the Bench reiterated that the officers must be present in person to account for not filing the compliance affidavits.

In Bihar’s case

The refusal came a day after the same Bench had rejected a similar plea from the standing counsel for Bihar, who sought exemption for the State’s Chief Secretary, citing the upcoming Assembly election. Turning down the request, the court had observed that the official’s administrative duties were unrelated to the conduct of elections. “The Election Commission will handle everything in the State. Don’t worry. Let the Chief Secretary come,” the Bench had remarked.

On October 27, the Bench had expressed strong displeasure over the failure of most States and Union Territories to submit compliance reports from their local bodies on the implementation of the ABC Rules, despite being granted three months to do so in August. It had directed the Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories to personally appear before the court on November 3, exempting only Telangana and West Bengal, which had complied with its directions.

The court had also clarified that the Chief Secretary of Delhi must be present in person, notwithstanding the filing of a report by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

“Nothing has come on record. Continuous incidents are happening. The country is being shown down in foreign countries,” Justice Nath had remarked while summoning the Chief Secretaries.

Wide media coverage

The Bench also questioned why State officials were disregarding the court’s orders despite extensive media coverage. “Our order was widely reported by all newspapers and other media outlets. Do the State officers not read newspapers or use social media?” it had asked.

The court’s suo motu intervention followed growing public concern over a series of dog-bite incidents, including the death of a six-year-old girl, which had prompted an earlier order by a Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan calling for the mass capture of stray dogs across Delhi and neighbouring districts without release.

However, the directive drew criticism from animal welfare groups that warned of cruelty and statutory violations. Subsequently, in a rare administrative move, Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai withdrew the matter from Justice Pardiwala’s Bench and reassigned it to a three-judge Bench headed by Justice Nath.

Describing the previous direction as “too harsh,” the Justice Nath-led Bench on August 22 had ordered stray dogs to be sterilised, vaccinated, and released back into their localities, except in cases where they were rabid or exhibited aggressive behaviour. States were granted eight weeks in August to submit reports on the implementation of the ABC Rules, which require local authorities to conduct sterilisation and anti-rabies drives under the catch–neuter–vaccinate–release model.

The top court had also expanded the scope of the proceedings beyond the Delhi–National Capital Region (NCR), directing that the matter be treated as a pan-India issue to enable the formulation of a uniform national policy. It had accordingly ordered the impleadment of the Secretaries of the departments concerned of all States and Union Territories in the proceedings.

The August order had also directed individual petitioners and NGOs to deposit ₹25,000 and ₹2 lakh, respectively, with the Supreme Court registry, to be utilised by municipal authorities for developing facilities for the care and management of stray dogs.