top of page
Search

A Sigh of Relief and a Call to Action🙏

Post made at 11 am 22nd Aug 2025 after Supreme Court interim order

Today, we express our deep gratitude to the God, the Universe and the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India for a pragmatic and thoughtful interim order. Animal lovers have been praying. The bench, led by Justice Vikram Nath, has provided something crucial: the time and space for a more rational, compassionate, and nationwide discussion on human-animal coexistence.


This interim order is a significant step away from drastic measures and towards structured, scientific management. We are profoundly relieved that the Court has stayed the prohibition on releasing strays and explicitly reiterated that vaccinated, healthy dogs must be returned to their territories—a cornerstone of effective Animal Birth Control (ABC).


The Court’s directives show a clear understanding of the complexities:

✅ **Health & Safety First:** Aggressive or rabid dogs will be isolated and treated, not released, ensuring community safety.

✅ **Structured Care:** The focus on dedicated feeding spaces is worrying but probably moves vity away from chaotic scenes and towards organized community management.

✅ **A National Framework:** By making this pan-India and calling for a unified national policy, the Court acknowledges this is not just a Delhi-NCR issue but a national one. However this is worrying for states like ours who already have a good humane stray dog management system in place.


However, we note with concern the impleadment of all states and UTs. While necessary for a uniform policy, it introduces variability we must vigilantly monitor. The financial deposits required for NGOs and dog lovers, though well-intentioned to ensure seriousness, must not become a barrier for genuine, small-scale caregivers.


This order is a landmark moment for us, the animal lovers. It is a mandate. The court has given us a framework, but it is now our sacred duty to dedicate ourselves to our cities and states.


Local communities are key. We and particularly squads must be the solution:

🔬 **Ramp up ABC/ARV programs** with renewed vigor and transparency.

🤝 **Work WITH municipal authorities** to create dedicated feeding spaces and promote vaccination drives.

📚 **Educate our communities** on responsible coexistence and reporting procedures.


The Hon’ble Court has placed its trust in a process that we champion. Let’s prove together that compassion and pragmatism can walk hand-in-hand. As Gandhi Ji said, *“The greatness of a nation is judged by the way it treats its animals.”*

Let’s get to work.



Timeline of discussions:

courtesy : Bar & Bench

Justice Nath: Directions in para 13 are reiterated with a modification where any public or organisation shall not obstruct such services. Dog lovers and NGOs shall deposit 25,000 and 2 lakhs with the registrar..


10:41 am, 22 Aug 2025

Justice Nath: The dogs with rabies or aggressive behaviour shall not be released. No public feeding of dogs allowed. Dedicated feeding spaces for stray dogs are to be created. There have been instances due to such feeding instances.


10:39 am, 22 Aug 2025

Justice Nath: Those dogs with aggressive behavior or with rabies shall be immunized


10:39 am, 22 Aug 2025

Justice Vikram Nath: 1. Municipal authorities shall comply with para 12, 12.1 and 12.2, prohibition on release of strays shall be stayed. They shall be dewormed, vaccinated etc and sent back to the same area.


10:37 am, 22 Aug 2025

Justice Vikram Nath: All similar matters shall be transferred to this court for a final national policy. After the last hearing, we have suggested some modifications


10:37 am, 22 Aug 2025

Justice Vikram Nath: This is interim directions.. we have impleaded all states and UTs ..we have made it pan India. Matters are pending in other High Courts also

Updated at:22nd Aug, 2025 at 10:59 AM


Justice Nath: Desirous animal lovers shall be free to move the application to the concerned municipal body for adoption of the street dogs upon which identified selected street dog shall be tagged and given in adoption to the applicant. It shall be the responsibility that the adopted stray dogs return to the streets.

Updated at:22nd Aug, 2025 at 10:59 AM


Justice Nath: The Municipal authority shall file an affidavit of compliance with complete statistics of resources, namely, dog catching personnel, etc, for the purpose of compliance with the ABC Rules.

Updated at:22nd Aug, 2025 at 10:59 AM


Comments

Subscribe Form

©2019 by The CJ Memorial Trust. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page