The Supreme Court on Friday directed all states and Union Territories to remove stray dogs from public institutions, including schools, colleges, hospitals, railway stations, bus stops, and sports complexes.

The order came in response to what the court described as an “alarming rise of dog bite incidents” across the country. It also specified that the relocated animals should not be returned to their original areas after sterilisation.

However, the ruling has sparked widespread criticism from animal rights activists, who termed it impractical and contrary to existing laws.

BJP leader and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi expressed shock and deep concern over the Supreme Court’s decision, highlighting the lack of shelter infrastructure to accommodate the strays.

“This is as bad as or even worse than Justice Pardiwala's judgement. This cannot be put into practice... If 5000 dogs are removed, where will you keep them? You need 50 shelters... But you do not have that. You need people to pick them up. What difference will removing 5000 dogs make? If there are 8 lakh dogs here, what will removing 5000 dogs change? ... The question is that if this were possible, it would have been done,” Gandhi told reporters.

Supreme Court lawyer and petitioner Nanita Sharma described the development as unfortunate but maintained faith in the justice system.

“Today's order is similar to the previous order of August 11. Dogs will be removed from government institutions, educational institutions, railway stations, and bus stops and will be relocated. A nodal officer will be appointed to ensure that they don't return to these institutions. I still have hope, and I believe in divine justice. There should not be such injustice to such voiceless animals...” she said.

“Relocation is a no-no under the ABC (Animal Birth Control) rules, but it has been justified with bites... What has happened today is unfortunate... The shelter houses should also be well-maintained... We are respecting the order because it is from the Supreme Court...” she added.

Echoing these concerns, People for Animals India Trustee Gauri Maulekhi condemned the ruling, asserting that the court failed to hear all parties before passing the directive.

“Today, the bench assembled, read the order and did not hear any party. We are shocked to hear the orders that were passed. It was regarding the removal of dogs from certain areas. This is actually unfortunate. But without listening to all parties, just offhandedly asking for dogs to be removed is just going to aggravate the problem. While it might seem like a solution on paper, it's going to be a nightmare in the country,” she said.

Earlier this day, the Supreme Court, while taking into consideration the "alarming rise of dog bite incidents", ordered all states and Union Territories (UTs) to ensure the removal of all stray dogs from every educational institution, hospital, public sports complex, bus stand, railway station, etc. The dogs will not return to their respective areas after the sterilisation.

With agency inputs