IN A CHARGED HEARING BY LAWYERS IN APEX COURT ON STRAY DOGS CASE SC BENCH AGAIN ORDERS THE DELHI GOVERNMENT TO IMPLEMENT ITS AUGUST 11 DIRECTIVES SERIOUSLY
The three judge bench of Supreme Court has on Thursday reprimanded the Delhi government and concerned authorities for not being serious on the orders issued by the apex court on August 11 to capture the stray dogs on the streets and put them in shelters taking their care but ensuring that they do not return to the streets again.
The highly charged hearing held on Thursday in the apex court was as a sequel to the August 11 orders issued by the two bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Justice JB Padrivala and Justice R.Mahadevan.
However, yesterday on a petition filed by an advocate Namita Sharma representing an NGO protecting animals, the chief justice of India Mr. Gavai had assured her that he will definitely look into this matter giving a new ray of hope.
When this case will be heard again is still a question mark.
On Thursday highly charged hearing was represented by a battery of lawyers from the side of various Animal NGOs viz senior advocates Anand Grover, Siddharth Luthra, Aman Lekhi, Sidhartha Dave, and Colin Gonsalves, a human rights lawyer.
According to a report in HT today the three judge bench of the apex court led by justice Vikram Nath reprimanded the Delhi government strongly telling to the aditional solicitor general Archana Pathak Dave who represented them that you frame laws and rules but never implement them. While on the one hand the human beings are suffering – on the other hand the animal lovers complain of not following he rules. The judges were critical of both animal boards and authorities saying that they do nothing instead of implementing the rules.
Kindly recall that these arguments continued on Thursday as a sequel to the August 11 order issued to Delhi, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and now to Faridabad as well to capture all the street dogs and put them in shelters to be prepared within eight weeks ensuring that they are not sent back to the streets.
While strongly arguing on behalf of the government of the national capital territory in favour of the Supreme Court judgement opposing the demand of the counsels of the Animal protectors Solicitor Mehra Tushar Mehta said that the dog bites cases are resulting in human deaths, child mutilations and their subsequent deaths.
There is an imperative need for the court to find solution as dog bites cases count are 37 lakhs a year and children dying due to dog bites. He added that sterilisation does not stop rabies or the mutilation of children. Dog should not be killed but separated and sterilized said the Solicitor general with the lawyers appearing for the animal defenders saying that the key portion of the August 11 order must be stayed arguing that if disregarded completely the PREVENTION OF CRUELTY ANIMALS SCT, 1960 and Animal Birth Control rules and several of the early supreme court judgements requiring sterilisation and immunization, not nass removal as a legal action to manage properly the stray animals, dogs.
After hearing the highly charged arguments for and against the apex court orders on Thursday the three judge bench led by justice Vikram Nath reserved its order strictly ordering the Delhi government and those in NCR region to strictly adhere to the apex court directions with the Delhi government abiding by the statutory rules clarifying whether it intended to implement them forthwith.
It may be recalled that the suo motto court was triggered by the shocking death of a six year old girl in Delhi from the dreaded disease rabies following a dog bite.
As a result, the Apex court two judge bench issued orders on August 11 to capture all stray dogs in Delhi and NCR, Ghaziabad, Noida, Gurugram and now also Faridabad within eight weeks directing to prepare the shelters for them ensuring that the stray dogs are not sent back to streets again.
Several animal lovers organisations and NGOs protested after this judgement and petitions filed in Supreme Court for the reversal of the apex court order.
