Today, the Karnataka High Court issued a notice to the Union of India and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a charitable trust challenging the civic body’s proposal to implant microchips in stray dogs across the state capital.

A bench comprising Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice KV Aravind issued the notice after the counsel for the petitioner, Save Our Animals Charitable Trust, argued that the BBMP lacked the authority to implement such a project.

The petitioner further contended that implanting microchips in stray dogs for purposes such as vaccination, monitoring, and population control was an invasive measure that violated the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Animal Birth Control Rules of 2023.

While the bench initially remarked that there should be "no objection to controlling" the stray dog population, it later agreed to issue notice in the matter after the respondent authorities requested time to present their arguments.

In February this year, the BBMP's Health and Animal Husbandry Department issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) document for a pilot project aimed at implanting microchips in stray dogs across the city.