The Supreme Court  continued the hearing on the stray dogs case, warning that it may impose a liability on the dog feeders and civic authorities for ‘not doing anything’ for every bite that causes injury or death to the elderly or children. The bench led by Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria also asked for accountability from dog feeders, telling them to ‘keep the animals in their house.’

SC warns states of heavy compensation for every dog bite

Justice Nath said, “For every dog bite, death or injury caused to children or the elderly, we are likely going to fix heavy compensation by the state, for not doing anything. Also, liability and accountability on those who are saying we are feeding dogs. Do it, take them to your house. Why should dogs be littering around, biting, scaring people?” LiveLaw reported.

‘Who should be held accountable’: SC to dog feeding organisations

Questioning the conduct of dog feeding organisations and groups, Justice Sandeep Mehta said, “Who should be held accountable when dogs attack a 9-year-old? The organization that is feeding them? You want us to shut our eyes to the problem.”

During the hearing, senior advocate Arvind Datar told the court that the Animal Birth Control Rules mainly focus on sterilisation and do not deal properly with aggressive dogs.

The case was heard on three days last week, with the apex court initially examining the presence of the street dogs in institutional spaces and highlighting the failure of civic authorities to manage the issue effectively. While hearing, the bench recalled its last hearing on January 8, noting poor implementation of the ABC Rules. The court clarified that it never ordered the removal of dogs from the streets but warned that they can spread diseases to wildlife.