Supreme Court: If Stray Dogs Bite Someone, Then Feeders Of Those Stray Dogs Are Responsible (Updated)

Updated (Sep 16th, 2022): It seems there is some confusion regarding the Supreme Court verdict regarding the stray dogs, and their feeders. As our readers pointed out, Maneka Gandhi, member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, animal rights activist, and environmentalist, in a video has cleared the airs around the judgement and rubbishes the rumour, stating that “it is totally and completely fake.”

We will update the story as more details emerge..

Earlier..

The Supreme Court on Friday said that those who routinely feed stray dogs will be held responsible for the dogs’ vaccination and to bear the costs if they attack people.

Bearing responsibility for stray dogs’ actions

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and J.K. Maheshwari was hearing petitions regarding the stray dogs’ menace in Kerala.

Khanna expressed his love for dogs and acknowledged that there are many others.

He suggested those who feed stray dogs could possibly keep a number or marking on the dog they feed.

“They will be responsible for vaccinating them and bearing the cost if a person is attacked,” he said.

Balance between helping strays and protecting people

The bench stressed the need to find a solution to the situation of stray dogs along with the need to create a balance between people who feed stray dogs and also protect innocent people from being attacked by the dogs.

It is important to accept there is a problem – dogs may become ferocious due to starvation or may pick up a disease.

It further added that rabies infected dogs could be put in a care centre by authorities concerned.

Deaths and attacks

Advocate V.K. Biju said that since August, 8 persons have died and schoolchildren and women have been attacked in public.

He further highlighted the recent death of a 12-year-old victim in Kerala.

The Counsel, representing the Kerala government, cited Kerala High Court judgment passed in 2015, to cull the stray dog population as per local body laws.

Special commission asked to submit report

The court asked the Sri Jagan Commission to submit a report.

Jagan Commission was formed by the Supreme Court in 2016 to inquire into complaints about dog attacks and distribution of compensation to victims in Kerala.

After hearing arguments, the top court scheduled the matter for further hearing on September 28, and permitted animal rights groups to intervene.

Kerala Highcourt Verdict

On Sep 14th, Kerala Highcourt had passed an order stating that the Govt should ensure wellbeing of citizens, in case of strag dogs attacking them.

A bench of Justice A. K. Jayashankaran Nambiar and Justice Gopinath P. J. stated:

We will keep you updated as more details come in..

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