New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday summoned chief secretaries of all states except West Bengal and Telangana for having failed to file compliance affidavits in a suo motu matter pertaining to the issue of stray dogs.
A bench of justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria warned that should the secretaries remain absent on November 3, the next hearing, coercive steps will be taken or costs will be slapped. "Didn't the officers read newspapers or social media?... Even if they are not served they should have been here... We will hold court in auditorium," the bench verbally remarked.
The bench also observed that incidents pertaining to stray dogs were continuing unabated. "The image of the country is being shown as down in the eyes of foreign nations. We are also reading news reports," justice Nath orally observed.
When a counsel referred to the cruelty against dogs, SC responded "what about the cruelty towards humans?"
The bench said it was monitoring the case so that a "balance" can be achieved "between animal welfare and public safety". The court also disapproved of an increasing number of people or groups seeking to intervene in the case. It said rather than increasing the number of parties in the matter, "reasonable" suggestions can be furnished by interested parties.
At the last hearing in August, SC had said the direction to relocate all stray dogs in the NCR to shelters and prohibit their release "seems to be too harsh". Modifying the order, a bench headed by justice Nath had directed authorities to sterilise, deworm and vaccinate all dogs that have so far been moved to shelters and release them back to the same area from where they were picked up.
A bench of justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria warned that should the secretaries remain absent on November 3, the next hearing, coercive steps will be taken or costs will be slapped. "Didn't the officers read newspapers or social media?... Even if they are not served they should have been here... We will hold court in auditorium," the bench verbally remarked.
The bench also observed that incidents pertaining to stray dogs were continuing unabated. "The image of the country is being shown as down in the eyes of foreign nations. We are also reading news reports," justice Nath orally observed.
When a counsel referred to the cruelty against dogs, SC responded "what about the cruelty towards humans?"
The bench said it was monitoring the case so that a "balance" can be achieved "between animal welfare and public safety". The court also disapproved of an increasing number of people or groups seeking to intervene in the case. It said rather than increasing the number of parties in the matter, "reasonable" suggestions can be furnished by interested parties.
At the last hearing in August, SC had said the direction to relocate all stray dogs in the NCR to shelters and prohibit their release "seems to be too harsh". Modifying the order, a bench headed by justice Nath had directed authorities to sterilise, deworm and vaccinate all dogs that have so far been moved to shelters and release them back to the same area from where they were picked up.