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In an interview with CNBC-TV18, senior advocate Vaibhav Gaggar and advocate-on-record Nanita Sharma said the order is legally flawed, having been passed without hearing all concerned parties.
The country’s top court recently ordered local authorities to immediately remove stray dogs from the premises of public institutions, including schools, hospitals, railway stations and colleges, and shift them to shelters for sterilization and vaccination. The move has triggered widespread protests by animal rights activists, with former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi terming the order as inhumane, anti-science and anti-law.
Senior advocate Vaibhav Gaggar questioned the practical feasibility of the direction given the sheer scale of the problem. “It is estimated that there are around five crore stray dogs in India,” Gaggar said. “So, what are we really saying? Pick them up and put them in non-existent shelters?” She noted that this directive causes confusion and sadness, especially for communities like university campuses where stray animals are often loved and cared for by students and professors.
As a lawyer, Gaggar expressed concern that “the entire decision has proceeded on newspaper and media reports without listening to the voices of all parties or activists.” He stressed that these are “broad directives that are not even enforceable, and the hammering of the law on such an issue against these voiceless, helpless animals is a cause for grave concern.”
Asserting the legal objections, advocate-on-record Nanita Sharma said that the order directly contradicts the existing law. Sharma confirmed that the court had reviewed and withdrawn the earlier comprehensive order for transfer. He argued that the transfer order is “absolutely illegal” as Animal Birth Control (ABC) rules, which govern the management of stray animals, already exist.
Furthermore, Sharma highlighted the pitiful condition of animals. He said that although authorities claim they have a shortage of dedicated shelters, those that exist are “in a deplorable condition. There are no basic facilities provided to the dogs or basic facilities of food and water.” He concluded by saying that in the absence of adequate infrastructure, the order is “absolutely an impractical order, where it is basically nothing less than killing dogs.”
Watch the attached video for the full discussion.