Telangana High Court extends restraint on GHMC capturing sterilised stray dogs

Telangana High Court extended protection for sterilised stray dogs, allowing GHMC to act only on verified complaints of attacks. AASRA argued that dog removals ignored Supreme Court guidelines. The court posted the case for further hearing on December 2

Hyderabad: Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy of the Telangana High Court on Monday extended the interim direction restraining the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) from capturing sterilised stray dogs, except in cases where a specific complaint of dog attacks is received. The protection will continue until Tuesday, December 2.

The court had first issued this direction on November 28, making it clear that sterilised dogs should not be picked up during ongoing civic operations. The order allowed GHMC to act only when there were concrete reports of attacks or injuries involving street dogs. The writ plea was filed by the Association for Animal Shelter and Rescue Aid (AASRA), which sought a halt to dog-capture activities in public institutions such as schools, hospitals, sports stadiums, railway stations, and bus depots. The organisation argued that these operations were being conducted without following the Supreme Court’s guidelines issued on November 7 in a suo motu case concerning stray dog management across the country.

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Senior advocate G. Krishna Murthy, representing AASRA, told the court that GHMC teams were using harsh methods and removing even sterilised dogs, contrary to the apex court’s directions. He said dogs were being shifted to undisclosed centres and noted that the city lacked the rehabilitation facilities required under the Supreme Court’s framework. Appearing for GHMC, standing counsel G. Madhusudhan Reddy sought time to file a detailed counter. He maintained that the civic body was complying with the Supreme Court’s directions and emphasised that there had been frequent complaints in several localities regarding stray dog attacks, especially involving children and older citizens.

Last week, the court permitted the petitioner to inspect Animal Care Centres in the LB Nagar and Serilingampally zones to verify compliance with the Supreme Court’s directives. When the matter was mentioned again on Friday, counsel for AASRA informed the court that GHMC vans had reportedly entered the High Court premises and picked up sterilised dogs, despite previous orders. He argued that the Supreme Court had mandated fencing of public spaces, schools, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands, depots, and railway stations before any removal of community dogs, and that bypassing this sequence made the exercise ineffective and needlessly harmful.

After briefly hearing both sides, the court extended the interim order and posted the case for further consideration on Tuesday.