Thankful to stray dogs: Supreme Court judge on global fame after key order

“I am thankful to the stray dogs for making me known...not only in this country but the world over,” said Supreme Court Judge Justice Vikram Nath, who presided over the three-judge bench in the high-profile Delhi case that brought him global recognition, Live Law reported.

Justice Nath made the light-hearted yet striking remark while speaking at the Regional Conference on Human-Wildlife Conflict in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.

“So long I have been known in the legal fraternity for the little work I do, but I am thankful to the stray dogs for making me known to the entire civil society...,” Justice Nath said, expressing gratitude for the recognition, crediting the unique case for elevating his profile internationally.

Justice Nath further shared that he had been receiving messages from dog lovers, and blessings from dogs themselves. “Apart from dog lovers, dogs are also giving me blessings and good wishes. In addition to human blessings and good wishes, I have their good wishes also,” he said.

He also thanked the Chief Justice of India (CJI) B R Gavai for entrusting him with the matter.

“And I am thankful to my CJI for allotting me that matter. Recently, we were in 'Law Asia POLA Summit'. The presidents of the lawyers association were here. So they started asking questions about stray dogs matter. I felt very elated well people outside India also know me. So I am thankful to them for giving me this recognition,” he said.

Justice Vikram Nath headed the three-judge bench that, on August 22, stayed an earlier directive from a two-judge bench dated August 11, which prohibited the release of stray dogs picked up from Delhi-NCR. His bench ruled that the dogs must be returned to their original locations after vaccination and sterilisation. The Chief Justice had reassigned the case to Justice Nath after it was brought to his attention that the earlier order conflicted with previous decisions on the same issue.

Justice Nath is also the second in line to become the Chief Justice of India, after current CJI B R Gavai. He is expected to assume office in 2027, after Justice Surya Kant.

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