SC urged to take suo moto cognizance on rising stray dogs attacks

The Supreme Court on Monday was urged to take cognizance of rising menace of street dogs nuisance.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday was urged to take cognizance of rising menace of street dogs nuisance after CJI DY Chandrachud took notice of the dressing wrapped around the injured hand of a lawyer who was attacked by stray dogs.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra expressed concern and enquired if the lawyer with the injured hand would require any immediate medical attention.

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The lawyer said that he was fine and said that he was recently hounded by five dogs during a morning walk in his neighbourhood resulting in injury to his hand.

In a short exchange, CJI Chandrachud recalled that two years back, one of his law clerks was attacked by street dogs when he was parking his car.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mentioned about a viral video from Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad where a 14-year-old boy, who was allegedly bitten by a neighbour’s dog a month ago and had hidden the incident from his family, succumbed to death.

Senior Advocate Vijay Hansaria, who was also present during the hearing in the Chief Justice’s courtroom, urged the top court to take suo cognizance of this menace to protect the safety of citizens.

Notably, a batch of petitions relating to street dogs is pending for consideration before another bench of the Supreme Court.

Recently, the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has filed an intervention application before the apex court, seeking directions to state authorities to captivate and euthanise suspected rabid dogs and extremely dangerous dogs, and also a direction to state authorities to take strict actions against irresponsible abandonment.