The Supreme Court of India has strongly criticised several State and Union Territory governments for not taking action on the problem of stray dogs. On Monday, the court called the Chief Secretaries of all States and UTs, except West Bengal and Telangana, to personally appear before it. The court said they failed to submit reports on the steps taken to follow the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules.

The case is titled“In Re: City Hounded By Strays, Kids Pay The Price.” A bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta, and Justice NV Anjaria heard the matter. The judges said they were upset that many governments had not done anything despite being ordered earlier. The court also noted that frequent stray dog attack incidents harm India’s international image.

Justice Nath commented that such incidents are being widely reported and showing India negatively before other countries. He stated that the authorities cannot ignore these reports and must take action. The court pointed out that only West Bengal, Telangana, and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi had submitted their compliance reports, but those documents were also not placed properly on record.

 Due to this irresponsible approach, the judges ordered Chief Secretaries of all defaulting States and UTs to appear in person on November 3 at 10:30 a.m. They warned that strict action and fines would follow if they did not obey.

The Supreme Court had earlier directed all State and UT administrations to follow the ABC Rules and send their compliance reports by August 22. However, on Monday, the court found that most did not follow the order, and many did not even send any representatives to the hearing.

This case started when the court took notice of a news article in July published by The Times of India titled “In a City Hounded by Strays, Kids Pay Price.” After that, the court gave various directions to control the stray dog issue.

Earlier, another bench had ordered authorities in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, and Ghaziabad to move stray dogs to shelters and not release them back on the streets. However, later the matter was shifted to the current bench because there were concerns that those orders did not follow existing rules.

On August 22, the new bench changed the earlier decision and said that dogs must be released back into the same areas after they are sterilised and vaccinated. Only dogs with rabies or aggressive behaviour may be kept away. The court also banned feeding stray dogs in public places and instructed local bodies to create specific feeding areas.

The Supreme Court wants all States and UTs to properly follow the ABC Rules. The judges said they may create a national policy for stray dog management soon. The court made it clear that the issue is serious and the top officials must appear next week to show accountability. If they fail to come, the court warned that it may conduct the hearing in an auditorium to ensure everyone is present and listening.