On Wednesday, the Supreme Court scheduled the final hearing for the issue concerning the reduction of stray dog attacks in the country on 10th January, 2023.
A bench comprising Justice J. K. Maheswari and Justice K. V. Viswanathan has been examining a group of cases, which includes a plea submitted by the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KeSCPCR).
The plea highlights the rise in stray dog attacks in Kerala, particularly against children, and seeks directives to address this issue. This statutory body has submitted an intervention application in a pending civil appeal, in which the Kannur district panchayat has also filed a request for instructions to euthanize suspected rabid or highly dangerous dogs in the district. The batch of cases before the Supreme Court challenges the validity of five High Court orders.
During the prior hearing, the Supreme Court made an oral observation, expressing its intent not to provide any interim directives. Instead, the Court indicated its desire to thoroughly examine the case on its merits and subsequently establish specific and substantive guidelines.
In the recent proceedings, when the matter was under consideration, the bench observed that service to several respondents had not been completed. Consequently, the Court issued a directive for the service to be finalized for the unserved respondents within a period of four weeks. Furthermore, the Court explicitly mentioned that if, at the next hearing date, service remained incomplete, those cases would be separated, and the hearing would proceed with cases where service had been successfully completed.
The Court also directed the Nodal officers on either sides of the matter to file compilations of affidavits and written submissions by December 15th.
Case Title: Animal Welfare Board of India V. People For Elimination of Stray Troubles
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