The Supreme Court on Friday suggested that people who habitually feed stray dogs can be made responsible for their vaccination and held liable to bear the costs if the animals they care for attack innocent people.
The court voiced the idea as a means to balance the humane act of feeding strays and protecting innocents from stray dog attacks.
“I am also a dog lover and there are many other dog lovers here. What I had thought of was that the people who feed dogs should be allowed to do so, they can keep a number or a marking on the dog and they will be responsible for vaccinating them and bearing the cost if a person is attacked,” Justice Sanjiv Khanna, heading the Bench, observed orally.
The court scheduled a hearing on September 28.
The issue
The danger of stray dog attacks was recently brought back into the apex court's focus by advocate V.K. Biju, who highlighted the death of a 12-year-old victim recently in Kerala.
The Bench also asked the Justice Sri Jagan Commission formed by the Supreme Court to submit a report. The commission was constituted in 2016 to inquire into complaints about dog attacks and distribution of compensation to victims in Kerala.
Senior advocate V. Giri, appearing for the State, referred to a 2015 judgment of the Kerala High Court to cull the stray dog population in accordance with the local body laws.
Mr. Biju seconded the State's request, saying schoolchildren and women are being attacked by ferocious dogs in public places.
“We have to accept that there is a problem. Dogs may become ferocious due to lack of food or they may get an infection. In case of rabid dogs, they can be put to sleep. But even for that permission need to be taken,” Justice Khanna said.
The court allowed animal rights group to intervene and said the Bench would hear them in detail before passing orders on the issue.
