New SC Bench to Hear Stray Dog Case, August 11 Order Under Review
A newly constituted three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Vikram Nath and comprising Justices Sandeep Mehta and N.V. Anjaria, will now hear the high-profile suo motu case on stray dogs titled In Re: “City Hounded by Strays, Kids Pay Price”.
The matter was earlier heard by a bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, which on August 11 passed sweeping directions ordering the removal of all stray dogs from public spaces in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and Faridabad. The order mandated their relocation to shelters, prohibited their release back onto streets, and set an eight-week deadline for establishing adequate shelter facilities across the NCR.
Citing 37,15,713 reported dog bite cases in 2024 — including 25,201 in Delhi — the August 11 bench had called the situation “extremely grim” and stressed the need for immediate action, particularly to protect children, the elderly, and the homeless.
The shift to the new bench comes after lawyers pointed out that similar issues are pending before other benches, including one led by Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Sanjay Karol, raising concerns about conflicting orders. The Court has now clubbed the current proceedings with connected matters and the pending Special Leave Petition against a Delhi High Court ruling on stray dogs.
The new bench will also hear applications seeking a stay on the August 11 order, amid reports that dogs were being captured even before the order was officially published. The case is listed for further hearing tomorrow.
