Supreme Court Modifies Order on Stray Dogs, Allows Release After Sterilisation
The Supreme Court on Friday modified its August 8 order on stray dogs in Delhi-NCR, permitting their release back into the same area after sterilisation, vaccination, and deworming — a decision welcomed by animal rights groups. Dogs found rabid or aggressive, however, must be kept in separate shelters.
Staying its earlier prohibition on release, the court said, “Strays should be dewormed, vaccinated and sent back to the same area,” while expanding the case to cover the entire country. It also indicated plans to frame a national policy after detailed hearings.
The three-judge bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria made several modifications to the earlier ruling, which had directed civic bodies to capture and shelter all stray dogs within eight weeks — a move that had sparked outrage and was reassigned by the Chief Justice in a rare intervention.
While easing restrictions on release, the court maintained that public feeding of stray dogs will not be permitted. Instead, dedicated feeding zones will be created, with action against those found feeding dogs on the streets.
Animal lovers may apply for adoption, though the responsibility of ensuring the strays are not abandoned again lies with the adopters. Petitioners were also directed to deposit ₹25,000 each, while NGOs must deposit ₹2 lakh.
The bench said it would transfer similar cases pending before High Courts to itself in order to frame a uniform national policy on stray dog management.
Friday’s order comes against the backdrop of rising dog bite and rabies cases in Delhi, where over 25,000 bite cases were reported in 2024 and more than 3,000 in January 2025 alone.
Animal rights groups had opposed the August 8 directive, arguing it contradicted the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules that mandate the release of sterilised and vaccinated dogs to their original location. They also warned that mass sheltering of nearly 8 lakh strays could lead to cruelty and mismanagement.
