The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed all the applications as well as petitions to modify and withdraw its November 2025 order on transport and sterilization of stray dogs.
The court also allowed authorities to take legally permissible measures, “including euthanasia in the case of rabid and dangerous dogs,” to curb threats to human life, according to an earlier HT report on the hearing.
In its November 2025 order, the Supreme Court modified an earlier order and ordered all states and union territories to remove stray dogs from institutional premises and prohibited their re-release into such locations after sterilization, holding that allowing their return would “frustrate the very objective” of ensuring safe public spaces.
Supreme Court calls for inaction of states and union territories
The Supreme Court said that there was an absence of sustained efforts by states and union territories to build infrastructure to deal with the rise in the number of stray dogs.
“The court cannot remain oblivious to the harsh ground realities where children, travelers and the elderly have fallen victim to dog bite incidents,” the bench hearing the case said, adding that the right to life with dignity includes the right to live freely without the threat of harm from dogs.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Angaria dismissed all applications seeking to amend the November directives, and also dismissed challenges to the Standard Operating Procedures 2025 drawn up by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), citing “extremely disturbing” incidents of dog bites across the country, according to a separate HT report on the matter.
While reading its implementing directives in open court, the bench noted that “the problem has taken on deeply worrying proportions,” adding that reports of dog bite incidents occur with “alarming frequency and severity.”
The court noted that the case extended beyond residential areas to include airports and other public institutional places. Referring to the reports submitted before it, the bench noted that “the mere occurrence of repeated dog bite incidents at the busiest airport in the country (IGI) demonstrates its serious inadequacy.”
The bench also referred to incidents involving international travellers, including a German tourist who was allegedly bitten in Surat, Gujarat, and observed that such incidents adversely affect public confidence in “urban governance and civil administration”.
The court also authorized the authorities to take legally permissible measures, “including euthanasia in the case of rabid and dangerous dogs,” to reduce threats to human life.
