New Delhi, May 19 (LAB) Giving relief to the animal welfare organizations, the Supreme Court today vacated the interim stay on the operation of the Delhi High Court order which had held that community dogs have the right to food and citizens have the right to feed them and had framed guidelines on feeding stray dogs.
A bench of Justice U U Lalit, Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, said that the petitioner can approach High Court in case of any grievances. It also pointed out that in view of many important matters pending, those matters needed to be given priority. disposed of the petition filed by Humane Foundation for People and Animal challenging the Delhi High Court Order of 26th June, 2021 wherein certain guidelines and directions regarding feeding of stray dogs were passed by Hon’ble Mr Justice J.R. Midha.
The Court also vacated the interim stay granted earlier in the petition by order dated 4th March, 2022 passed by Hon’ble Mr Justice Vineet Saran and Justice Aniruddha Bose, on the operation of the Delhi High Court Order.
Several impleaders were before the Court today pointing out how the stay order had created a hostile environment for the dogs and led to many instances of harassment of volunteers of animal welfare organisation and feeders.
Senior Advocates Aman Lekhi and Anand Grover, appeared for intervenors. Friendicoes SECA had also moved an application for impleadment and was represented by Mr. Ritin Rai, Senior Advocate instructed by *Karanjawala & Co.* think The vacation of stay comes as a big relief to everyone engaged in animal welfare.
A petitioner in connected matters urged the Court to look into the issue of dog bite cases and the menace of strays in the city. On this, Justice U.U. Lalit addressed the lawyers present in court on the issue of huge pendency of important matters before the court and the court has to prioritise the kind of matters it entertains. Particularly in such cases, he observed that the petitioners have an effective remedy before the High Courts and should first approach the High Courts.
to animal welfare organisations and volunteers involved in feeding stray dogs, the Supreme Court today disposed of the petition filed by Humane Foundation for People and Animal challenging the Delhi High Court Order of 26th June, 2021 wherein certain guidelines and directions regarding feeding of stray dogs were passed by Justice J.R. Midha.
The Court also vacated the interim stay granted earlier in the petition by order dated 4th March, 2022 passed by Hon’ble Mr Justice Vineet Saran and Justice Aniruddha Bose, on the operation of the Delhi High Court Order. Several impleaders were before the Court today pointing out how the stay order had created a hostile environment for the dogs and led to many instances of harassment of volunteers of animal welfare organisation and feeders.Mr Aman Lekhi and Mr Anand Grover, Senior Advocates appeared for intervenors. Friendicoes SECA had also moved an application for impleadment and was represented by Mr. Ritin Rai, Senior Advocate instructed by *Karanjawala & Co.* think The vacation of stay comes as a big relief to everyone engaged in animal welfare.
A petitioner in connected matters urged the Court to look into the issue of dog bite cases and the menace of strays in the city. On this, Hon’ble Mr Justice U.U. Lalit addressed the lawyers present in court on the issue of huge pendency of important matters before the court and the court has to prioritise the kind of matters it entertains. Particularly in such cases, he observed that the petitioners have an effective remedy before the High Courts and should first approach the High Courts.
The Supreme Court had on March 4 passed the interim order and sought a response from the Animal Welfare Board of India and the Delhi government.
In July, The Delhi High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice J R Midha passed an order that the animals have a right under law to be treated with compassion, respect, and dignity and the protection of such beings is the moral responsibility of each and every citizen, including the governmental and non-government organizations.
the High Court said that community dogs have the right to food and citizens have the right to feed community dogs but in exercising this right, they should not impinge upon the rights of others. It had said adequate care and caution should be taken to ensure that it does not violate the rights of others or cause any harm, hindrance, harassment or nuisance to other individuals or members of the society.
Acting on a petition filed by ‘Humane Foundation for People and Animals’ challenging the High Court’s verdict, a Bench led by Justice Vineet Saran had issued the stay order and also issued notices to the Animal Welfare Board of India, the Delhi Government and others asking them to respond to the plea Challenging the order.
The NGO ‘Humane Foundation for People and Animals’ submitted that the high court’s directions were contrary to an order passed by the Supreme Court in 2015 in which the court had said, “There can be no trace of doubt that there has to be compassion for dogs and they should not be killed in an indiscriminate manner, but indubitably the lives of the human beings are to be saved and one should not suffer due to dog bite because of administrative lapse.”
It submitted that the High Court order was based upon several “blatantly misleading, irrelevant and factually incorrect statements and misinformation with regard to dog behaviour” and pleaded to quash it. “The guidelines passed by the Delhi High Court for feeding stray dogs in public places and the streets should not have been passed as several high courts including the Allahabad High Court have followed the Supreme Court’s request and not passed any order on the same issues between residents and dog feeders and asked parties to approach the apex court,” the petition said. /LAB/SNG/