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Stray Dogs SC Hearing Live Updates: The Supreme Court has formed a three-judge bench to hear the stray dog case on Thursday, August 14, in response to widespread outrage over an earlier directive calling for the blanket ‘removal’ of strays in Delhi-NCR. The case is now scheduled to be reviewed by Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria.
Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai on Wednesday said that he would look into the relocation of stray dogs in Delhi-NCR. When a petition seeking regular sterilisation and vaccination of the animals was mentioned before his bench on Wednesday, CJI Gavai said, “I will look into it,” indicating his commitment to examining the matter. However, it is unclear whether the Chief Justice was referring to the 2024 petition or the recent Supreme Court ruling that has drawn criticism from animal welfare activists and NGOs.
A Bench led by Justice Vikram Nath, with Justices Sandeep Mehta and N.V. Anjaria, has reserved its decision on the petitions seeking a stay on the Supreme Court’s August 11, 2025, order directing the blanket removal of stray dogs in the Delhi-NCR area.
Supreme Court Reserves Order On Interim Plea Seeking Stay Of Suo Motu Directive
Stray dogs in Delhi-NCR matter | Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi also opposed the August 11 order, which asked authorities to put stray dogs in shelter homes, and says dog bites exist, but there is zero rabies death in Delhi this year. Of course, dog bites are bad, but you… https://t.co/YvN3xYxPjg
— ANI (@ANI) August 14, 2025
Senior Advocate AM Singhvi contends that the August 11 order was putting the cart before the horse. He says, "With the best of intentions, all directions put cart before horse. If there were dog pounds, shelters, the directions would make sense ... Directions 1, 2, 4 are directions that should be saved, that should be enough.. We are all concerned about society.. SG Mehta did preemptive prejudice. There is a problem about dog bites, but Lordships would be surprised to know, parliamentary data said there are 0 rabies deaths in Delhi, Goa, Rajasthan from 2022-25... Dog bites are bad, but you cannot create a horror situation like this. The government should look at its own data from the House of Parliament from two weeks ago.. The order completely ignores the detailed earlier orders... They said, follow ABC rules strictly, sterilise, humanely manage..."
In the stray dog issue concerning Delhi-NCR, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Supreme Court that children are dying due to dog bites. He emphasized that sterilization alone does not prevent rabies, and even immunization does not stop the mutilation of children.
Presenting data to the Court, the Solicitor General stated that 37 lakh dog bite cases were reported across the country in 2024, with 305 deaths due to rabies in the same year. However, WHO’s modeling indicates the actual number of fatalities is much higher. He clarified that no one is an animal hater.
The Solicitor General highlighted that children are now afraid to play outdoors, and the Court must find a solution. He pointed out the contrast between a vocal minority and the silent suffering of the majority.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal stated that around 700 dogs have already been picked up, and expressed concern about their whereabouts, saying, "God only knows where they have gone." The Court responded by noting that the order was uploaded only yesterday evening.
Sibal replied, "Yes, but the dogs were already picked up and they will be killed." Meanwhile, Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra added that other High Courts have now begun issuing similar orders.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for one of the petitioners, argues, "What they are doing - they are going and picking up dogs. Where will they go? They will be culled ... And there was a situation, dogs who do not have enough space in the shelter attack each other, spread pestilence - this affects humans also ... At this point in time, there is legislation. If there are concerns, the lordships will take care of it, so that when sterilization is done, there is no multiplication of dogs. This is how it is done in other countries. I am representing Project Kindness. We are an NGO that looks after dogs."
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing one of the petitioners, requests a stay on the August 11 order. The Division Bench, headed by Justice J.B. Pardiwala, had instructed the Delhi-NCR authorities to capture all stray dogs within six to eight weeks, place them in shelters, and ensure they are permanently removed from public spaces.
Mr. Mehta presents the Bench with data revealing 3.7 million dog-bite incidents annually, which averages to about 10,000 cases each day. He states that rabies caused 305 deaths that year, but notes that WHO modeling suggests the actual number of fatalities is significantly higher.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Union government, informs the Bench that children are succumbing to rabies and dog bites. He presents official statistics highlighting the number of fatalities caused by rabies, emphasizing that the majority of those affected are children.
Amid the debate over SC ruling on stray dogs in Delhi, animal rights activist & BJP leader Maneka Gandhi says, "...Nobody favours the ill-treatment of animals. They believe that if animals are taken away, their children would not be bitten. I agree with that. But the animals would not go away. If we remove 3 lakh animals from Delhi, 3 lakh more would come in within a week from Ghaziabad and Faridabad. If those additional 3 lakh are removed, more would come in because there is abundant food in Delhi. You have more than 50,000 illegal chicken centres in Delhi. You have meat shops that function without a license. So, the law should come into effect for that too. Otherwise, it would never end...I would want the CJI to review it with love and see what the best way is, because our goal is the same. We too want fewer dogs, we want no biting, and we want humans and dogs & every animal to live in peace..."
#watch | Amid the debate over SC ruling on stray dogs in Delhi, animal rights activist & BJP leader Maneka Gandhi says, "...Nobody favours the ill-treatment of animals. They believe that if animals are taken away, their children would not be bitten. I agree with that. But the… pic.twitter.com/aifYKbGb9t
— ANI (@ANI) August 14, 2025
Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N. V. Anjaria are set to begin hearing the plea challenging the Court’s directive for the permanent removal of stray dogs from the streets of Delhi-NCR at 10:30 am today.
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