Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: The Supreme Court strongly criticised actor Sharmila Tagore’s arguments against recent measures to tackle the stray dog problem in public spaces, calling her submissions “completely removed from reality” while reserving broader observations on how the issue should be addressed.
Court Rejects Arguments Against Uniform Approach
During the hearing, the Supreme Court examined and rejected the examples cited by Sharmila Tagore to oppose a uniform policy for managing stray dogs. When her counsel referred to a friendly dog living on the AIIMS campus as an illustration, the court responded sharply, stating that the presence of stray dogs with ticks in hospital environments could have “disastrous consequences.” The bench cautioned against what it described as an attempt to glorify stray dogs in sensitive public spaces like hospitals.
Expert Committee and Global Examples Dismissed
Tagore’s counsel argued that only dogs identified as aggressive by a proper committee should be put down and suggested practices such as colour-coded collars, citing examples from countries like Georgia and Armenia. The Supreme Court dismissed these comparisons, questioning their relevance to India’s vastly larger population and ground realities, and urged the counsel to be realistic.
Concerns Over Vigilantism and Court’s Response
Senior advocates raised concerns about alleged harassment and violence against women who feed stray dogs, including incidents of abuse and physical assault. While acknowledging that such incidents could occur, the Supreme Court advised that these were law-and-order issues separate from stray dog management and directed that FIRs be filed and legal remedies pursued through appropriate courts.
Clarification on Stray Dog Policy
The Supreme Court reiterated that it had not ordered the blanket removal of all stray dogs from streets and clarified that its directions were aligned with the existing Animal Birth Control (ABC) rules. It also noted submissions highlighting the enormous financial burden of removing all stray dogs from public spaces, which could cost the government tens of thousands of crores.
