Today, the Supreme Court of India agrees to hear various plea on 16 August related to stray Dogs issue in Kerala.

The Top Court issued a notice on the fresh intervention application filed by the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR), seeking relief for children from stray dogs in the state.

A division bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and KV Viswanathan issued a notice to the parties and asked a nodal counsel, Manisha Karia, to file a convenient compilation of all applications along with the relief sought in two weeks' time.

Today, during the hearing, the counsel for the Kerala Panchayat submitted that incidents of stray dog attacks on humans had witnessed an alarming rise, endangering the lives of school children.

On the contrary, the counsel for the respondents said, "Kerala is not following the animal birth control measures. We fail to understand why Kerala is facing a unique situation from across the country. I am a former member of the Animal Welfare Board of India. We need to delve into the reason for the issue with Kerala and whether implementing laws is an issue. If that's the case, it needs to be tackled accordingly."

“A structured and enduring solution is required,” the Supreme Court said, seeking a response from the Animal Welfare Board on applications, including the one by KSCPCR.

Anjali Gopalan, counsel member of the Animal Welfare Board, told the bench that the state is killing dogs by entering people's homes. 

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the Animal Welfare Board of India, said the board has draft rules in place that can be used as reference.

The bench slated the matter for further hearing on August 16.

According to the petition, 5,794 stray dog attacks were reported in 2019; 3,951 cases in 2020; 7,927 cases in 2021; and 11,776 cases in 2022. Until June 19 this year, 6,276 cases have been reported in Kannur district.

Case Brief -

In the said matter, the court was hearing the intervening application filed by the Kannur district panchayat, which has sought permission to euthanise suspected rabid dogs / extremely dangerous dogs in a humane manner.

In its plea, the Kannur district panchayat cited the case of an 11-year-old autistic child who was mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs in Kannur on June 11.

The Supreme Court is already seized of a petition filed by the Animal Welfare Board of India, challenging a 2006 judgment of the Kerala High Court, which empowered local self-government institutions to kill stray dogs.

The petition was filed in the Supreme Court after the Kerala government in 2015 decided to eliminate stray dogs following a spate of dog attacks on people.