The Supreme Court on Friday stayed its earlier directive ordering the permanent relocation of stray dogs from Delhi-NCR streets to shelters, following protests from animal welfare groups.
A special three-judge bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria overruled the two-judge bench’s order that had directed civic authorities to pick up stray dogs “at the earliest” and shift them to shelters.
The court, however, prohibited public feeding of stray dogs, directing municipal bodies to create dedicated feeding zones in each ward. Boards will mark these spaces, the court said.
The bench clarified that stray dogs must be released back to the same locality after sterilisation and vaccination under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme, except for those infected with rabies or showing aggressive behaviour.
Animal lovers, the bench noted, may approach the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to adopt stray dogs. The judges also expanded the scope of the case to all states and Union Territories.
Animal rights activists had opposed the earlier relocation order, calling it inhumane and impractical given the shortage of shelters.
