The Supreme Court on Friday (August 22, 2025) modified its earlier suo motu directive requiring civic authorities in Delhi and the four adjoining districts to capture all stray dogs and confine them in shelters within six to eight weeks. The court directed that such dogs be released into the localities from which they were captured, after undergoing sterilisation, deworming and immunisation.
A three-judge Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N.V. Anjaria, however, clarified that the order would not extend to dogs infected with rabies or displaying aggressive behaviour. Such canines, it said, shall be sterilised and immunised but not released into public spaces. “As far as possible, such stray dogs shall be kept in a separate pound shelter after sterilisation and immunisation,” the Bench observed.
