Stray dogs case: SC pulls up states, UTs over poor infra, says ‘No sustained effort to tackle crisis’

THE Supreme Court on Tuesday came down heavily on the states and Union Territories (UTs), cracking down on them for “absence of sustained efforts” to build infrastructure to deal with the rising population of stray dogs. The court also refused to modify its November 2025 order to remove stray dogs from public institutions like hospitals, schools, colleges, bus stations, railway stations etc.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria observed that the right to life with dignity includes the right to live freely without the fear of harm from dog bite incidents and said the state “cannot remain a passive spectator.”

The court said, “The court cannot remain oblivious to harsh ground realities where children, international travellers, and old-age people have fallen victim to dog bite incidents.”

“The Constitution doesn't envisage a society where children and elderly people are to survive on the mercy and physical strength,” the bench observed.

The Supreme Court also directed all states to take the necessary steps to strengthen and implement the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) framework rules.

Supreme Court says, having regard to the population density of each state district, the authorities shall take necessary steps to expand Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres. It said the states shall ensure the establishment of at least one fully functional ABC centre in each district.

“Implementation of an animal birth control framework largely remains sporadic, underfunded and uneven across jurisdictions,” the court said.

The Supreme Court directed the NHAI to take time-bound measures to tackle the issue of stray cattle on national highways, including deploying decommissioned transport vehicles for their handling and setting up a monitoring and coordination framework.

The court also asked all high courts to register a suo motu case in continuing mandamus for monitoring compliance with the directions of the apex court.

Chief Secretaries of states shall file compliance before August 7 before the jurisdictional High Court, and the union government shall also do the same, the Supreme Court directed. To manage stray cattle, the Supreme Court directed the deployment of depreciated transport vehicles.

Following the ruling on stray dogs, a consolidated compliance report by the high courts shall be placed before the Supreme Court on November 17. The Supreme Court said the matter of stray dogs shall remain closed before the said date.