Supreme Court to lay down norms on feeding of stray dogs in government premises

The Supreme Court on Monday (November 3, 2025) said it would soon issue directions to regulate the feeding of dogs within government buildings and institutional premises.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N.V. Anjaria observed, “We will issue an order in a few days regarding government institutions where employees are supporting and encouraging dogs in that area.”

The court made the observation while hearing its suo motu case on evolving a national policy for stray dog management and ensuring effective implementation of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

In its earlier order issued on August 22, the Bench had directed municipal authorities across the country to establish dedicated feeding zones in every ward to ensure that stray dogs are fed in a regulated manner without causing inconvenience to the public. The court had noted that the directions were necessitated by a series of “untoward incidents” resulting from unregulated feeding, which had caused “great difficulties for the common man walking on the streets.”

During the hearing, senior advocate Karuna Nundy, appearing for an intervenor, requested that the parties be heard before any directions were issued concerning government premises. Declining the request, Justice Nath remarked, “With regard to government institutions, we will not hear.”

Ms. Nundy also pointed out that several irregularities had been reported in the designation of feeding areas by local bodies in Delhi. The Bench said such grievances would be examined at the next hearing.

“We are not closing the matter. It is a running matter. We will hear you,” Justice Nath remarked.

In an earlier hearing, the court 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 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.

On Monday, the Bench recorded the appearance of the Chief Secretaries and took note of the compliance affidavits filed by the States. Dispensing with their personal appearance on the next date, the court cautioned that any future default would invite fresh directions.

The Bench also impleaded the Animal Welfare Board of India as a respondent in the proceedings and listed the matter for orders on November 7.

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.