Supreme Court’s stray dog order: Amicus report flagged ‘fundamental right’ to move freely without fear of dog bite or assault

On Monday, the court directed the authorities in Delhi-NCR to relocate all stray dogs to dedicated dog shelters, underlining that they should not be released back on the streets.

“The 2023 Rules somehow seems to suggest that the fundamental rights of stray dogs to roam around in the street(s), attack human beings and create public nuisance is at a higher pedestal than the fundamental rights of human beings,” the amicus report said.

The 2023 Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules deal with the management of stray dog and cat population.

The Rules reclassified them as “community animals”, included provisions for community animal feeding and specified that stray dogs cannot be displaced from their regular place of habitation. While the ABC Rules mandate that stray dogs be brought back to their habitat after sterilisation, the amicus report said there is “absolutely no material to suggest that the sterilisation would eliminate the chance of the dog biting.”

“In almost all developed countries, there are no stray dogs on the streets,” the report said. “There cannot be any quarrel with the proposition that our streets/ public places should be free from stray dogs,” it added.

Citing rising dog bite data, the report said: “The presence of stray dogs on our streets/ public places like airports, railway stations is a direct infringement of our fundamental rights under Articles 19(1)(d) & 21 (right to move freely and the right to life respectively) of the Constitution of India.”

Citing government data, it said that in 2024, there were 37,15,713 reported dog bites across the country and 25,201 dog bites in Delhi. According to the report, Delhi had 3,196 cases of dog bites in January alone. “If figures of January 2025 are any indication, the cases of dog bites have increased by 50%,” the report said.

The report suggested that the Court could issue directives to municipal authorities in Delhi to “begin by creating dog shelter(s) for say 5,000 dogs in the next 6-8 weeks.” It also recommended that stray dogs captured would be detained in shelters and “would not be released on the streets/ public spaces under any circumstance.”

The amicus also recommended that stray dogs captured may be put up for adoption to individuals through animal welfare organisations.