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In Re: "City Hounded by Strays, Kids Pay Price" v. State of Andhra Pradesh & Ors. (Suo Motu Stray Dogs Case)

Contempt Petition · 2026 INSC 506Decided 19 May 2026
SMW(C) No.-000005-000005 - 2025 (with tagged SLPs, Writ Petitions, Transfer Cases and a Contempt Petition)
Justice Vikram Nath · Justice Sandeep Mehta · Justice N.V. Anjaria

Background

This suo motu writ petition arose from news reports on rising incidents of stray dog attacks on children and the public. Earlier orders of the Court (11 August 2025, 22 August 2025, and 7 November 2025) had already directed municipal authorities across India to remove stray dogs from "institutional areas" (schools, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands and railway stations), sterilise and vaccinate them, and place them in shelters without releasing them back into the same locations. This judgment decides a batch of applications by animal welfare groups and others seeking to modify, clarify, recall or stay those directions, together with a challenge to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to implement them, and a review of state-wise compliance.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 do not create any absolute right for stray dogs to be re-released at the exact location from which they were removed, especially in sensitive institutional premises, and that its earlier directions excluding such areas from re-release were a valid and purposive exercise of the Court's power under Article 142 to protect the public's fundamental right to life and safety under Article 21. It dismissed all applications seeking to dilute or stay the 7 November 2025 directions. It also upheld the AWBI's SOP, rejecting the argument that extending it to other high-footfall public spaces (religious sites, parks, tourist spots, airports, etc.) exceeded the Court's mandate, reasoning that the earlier list of institutional areas was illustrative, not exhaustive. Finding compliance across States and Union Territories patchy (including insufficient Animal Birth Control centres, staff and equipment) the Court transferred monitoring of compliance to the respective jurisdictional High Courts, directed fresh compliance affidavits by 7 August 2026, and listed the matter for further directions on 17 November 2026, warning that continued non-compliance could attract contempt action against erring officials.

Lesson Learnt

Citizens and institutions cannot invoke "animal rights" arguments to resist removal of stray dogs from schools, hospitals and similar high-risk public premises: public safety directions issued by the Supreme Court under Article 142 override a claimed statutory right to re-release, and compliance monitoring for such nationwide directions is now the responsibility of the jurisdictional High Courts, with contempt exposure for non-compliant municipal officials.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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