Supreme Court refuses to modify its November 2025 order to remove stray dogs from public institutions like hospitals, schools, colleges, bus stations, railway stations, and other places. SC dismissed all applications seeking recall of the November 7 judgment in the stray dogs matter, upholding the SOP issued by the Animal Welfare Board of India, and says challenges to the SOP do not merit acceptance. The court said that the Animal Birth Control framework introduced in 2001 suffered from a lack of planning and inadequate infrastructure expansion. In its observation, the court says that the sterilisation and vaccination drives were carried out sporadically without institutional depth or proper long-term planning. The Supreme Court also said that the continued inaction by states in implementing the ABC framework has aggravated the stray dog problem across the country
The court has raised alarm over the rise in dog bite cases, saying Sri Ganganagar alone reported 1,084 bites in a month, while Tamil Nadu recorded over 2 lakh cases in the first four months of the year.
Supreme Court refuses to modify its November 2025 order to remove stray dogs from public institutions like hospitals, schools, colleges, bus stations, railway stations etc. pic.twitter.com/sG8H975iug
— ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2026
In its January 9 order, the Supreme Court had said that the arguments of actor Sharmila Tagore against a one-size-fits-all approach to tackle the stray dog problem are “completely devoid of reality.”
“You are completely removed from reality. Don’t try to glorify these dogs in hospitals,” said a three-judge special bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria after her lawyer gave the example of a friendly dog that has been living on the AIIMS campus for many years.
On November 7, the three-judge bench, while taking into consideration the “alarming rise of dog bite incidents”, ordered all states and Union Territories (UTs) to ensure the removal of all stray dogs from every educational institution, hospital, public sports complexes, bus stands, railway stations, etc.
It said all these institutions and places must be fenced properly to prevent the entry of stray dogs.
The stray dogs should not be released to the same spot from which they were picked up, ordered the bench. It had also said that permitting their return would “frustrate the very purpose” of securing such premises and addressing public safety concerns.
It will be the responsibility of the concerned local government institutions to pick up stray dogs from such institutions/areas, and shift them to designated dog shelters after vaccination and sterilisation in accordance with the Animal Birth Control Rules, the apex court had ordered.
The apex court order had come on a suo moto cognisance it took of the menace of stray dogs across the country.
(With inputs from ANI)
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
