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The Supreme Court on Friday (November 7, 2025) directed all States and Union Territories to ensure the removal of stray dogs from the premises of educational institutions, hospitals, public sports complexes, bus depots, and railway stations, and observed that such canines must not be released back into the same localities after sterilisation.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N.V. Anjaria said that permitting the return of stray dogs into these premises would “defeat the very purpose” of securing such spaces and safeguarding public health and safety. It also mandated that all stray dogs currently residing in these public spaces be captured, sterilised, and vaccinated in accordance with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
“They will not be released back in the same area since releasing them back will frustrate the very purpose of the directive of the court,” Justice Mehta said, while reading out the operative portion of the order.
The directions were issued in the apex court’s suo motu proceedings aimed at formulating a national framework for stray dog management and ensuring compliance with existing statutory regulations.
The Bench further directed State governments to ensure, within eight weeks, that all government and private educational and medical institutions, transport hubs, and sports facilities are adequately fenced to prevent the entry of stray dogs. Each institution has also been instructed to designate a nodal officer responsible for maintenance and surveillance, while local bodies and panchayats have been directed to carry out regular inspections over the next three months and submit compliance reports to the court.
Remove cattle from highways
In addition, the Bench directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to remove stray cattle and other animals from national and state highways and relocate them to designated shelters.
The court also noted that the suggestions made by senior advocate Gaurav Agrawal, who is assisting the Bench as amicus curiae, would be incorporated in the detailed order to be issued later.
On November 3, the court had taken serious note of government employees feeding stray dogs within office premises, observing that such conduct violated its earlier directions mandating the establishment of designated feeding zones for canines.
In its August 22 order, the Bench had directed municipal bodies across the country to establish designated feeding zones in every ward to ensure that stray dogs are fed in a regulated manner without causing public inconvenience. The directions were prompted by a series of “untoward incidents” arising from unregulated feeding, which had caused “great difficulties for the common man walking on the streets.”
The Bench had earlier 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. Accordingly, it had directed the Chief Secretaries to personally appear before it on November 3, exempting only Telangana and West Bengal, which had complied with its orders. The court had also clarified that the Chief Secretary of Delhi must appear in person, notwithstanding the filing of a report by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
The suo motu proceedings stemmed from mounting public concern over a spate 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 sharp criticism from animal welfare groups, which warned that the measure would amount to cruelty and contravene statutory mandates. Subsequently, in a rare administrative step, 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.
Terming the earlier directive “too harsh,” the Justice Nath-led Bench on August 22 had ordered that stray dogs be sterilised, vaccinated, and released back into their respective localities, except in cases where they were rabid or displayed aggressive behaviour. The States were granted eight weeks to report 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.
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