Today, the Delhi High Court sent a notice to the Central government in response to a petition challenging the recent notification that prohibits 23 'ferocious' dog breeds across the nation.

Justice Subramonium Prasad, while acknowledging that other High Courts had granted relief by staying the notification, declined to do so in this case. Instead, it sought the Center to provide its response to the petition.

One of the petitioners involved in this case is a dog trainer, while the other is a doctor who is passionate about a particular category of dogs. The plea contends that there has been no conducted study in India to support the conclusion that the dog breeds in question are ferocious and necessitate a ban.

They argued that there is no logical or scientific reasoning behind the prohibition of breeding specific dog breeds like Cane Corso, Rottweiler, Terrier, etc. Notably, the professional dog trainer has cited the Constitutional provision concerning the freedom to pursue any profession and has asserted that the ban would directly affect his ability to earn a livelihood.

“Impugned notification constitutes a direct and severe encroachment upon his fundamental rights enshrined under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India. Article 19(1)(g) guarantees every citizen the right to practice any profession, trade, or business of their choice, subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by the state in the interest of the general public,” the plea stated.

The petitioner criticized the Center's decision as arbitrary and unreasonable, asserting that the notification had violated his right to practice his profession freely and without unwarranted interference.

Senior Advocate Manali Singhal and Advocates Mustafa Alam, Yashima Sharma, Heeba Ansari, Pawan Yadav and Lakshay Kaushik represented the petitioners. Advocate Rohan Jaitley appeared for the Central government.

Previously, in response to a similar plea, Justice Prasad had requested a response from the Centre and scheduled the matter for August 9. Meanwhile, a public interest litigation addressing the identical issue is awaiting a hearing before Acting Chief Justice Manmohan.