The Supreme Court on Friday refused to exempt the chief secretaries of states and union territories from appearing before it in person on November 3 in the ongoing stray dogs case, saying the order of the court was “not respected” and “they are just sleeping on it”.
“And when we ask them to come and file an affidavit of compliance, they are just sleeping on it. No respect for the order of the court. So fine, let them come. We will deal with them,” Justice Nath said.
The case in question relates to a suo motu case initiated by the Supreme Court to address the problem of stray dogs and their management across India.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta urged the bench to allow the chief secretaries to appear virtually before the court on November 3. However, Justice Nath said that the chief secretaries will have to come to the court physically, PTI reported.
What were the SC orders?
During a hearing on October 27, the Supreme Court directed the chief secretaries of all states and UTs, except West Bengal and Telangana, to remain present before it on November 3 and explain why compliance affidavits were not filed, despite the court’s August 22 order.
On 22 August, the Supreme Court extended the scope of the stray dogs case beyond the Delhi Capital Region and ordered all states and Union Territories to become parties to ensure uniform implementation of animal welfare and public safety measures.
Only the Municipal Corporation of Delhi along with the states of West Bengal and Telangana complied with the court’s earlier order issued on August 22.
The case of stray dogs
The Supreme Court is hearing the suo motu case, which was initiated on July 28 over a media report on a stray dog bite that led to rabies, especially among children, in the state capital.
In August – the Supreme Court ordered the Delhi government and municipal authorities to start removing stray dogs from all local areas and house them in designated dog shelters – describing the situation in the capital as “extremely grim”.
However, after protests broke out in Delhi and concerns were raised that these guidelines were in conflict with previous orders, the matter was transferred to a three-judge bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath. On August 22, the new bench stood by the original directions, calling them “too harsh” and specifying that sterilized, wormed and vaccinated dogs must be released back into their original locations.
On 30 October, the apex court refused to accept the Bihar government’s plea to disqualify its chief secretary from appearing before it on 3 November for the assembly elections in the state.
