Aggressive stray dogs certainly need to be removed from streets: Uttarakhand High Court directs municipalities

The Uttarakhand High Court last week ordered for removal of aggressive stray dogs from streets across the State. Court said, "Since dogs are territorial in character, it would not be advisable to remove all of them and place them in a dog pound. However, the aggressive one certainly needs to be removed."

The bench of Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Ramesh Chandra Khulbe directed the Nagarpalika, Nainital to survey the stray dogs within the town and to identify and remove only the aggressive dogs within the pack and remove them and place them in dog pound.

"These directions shall be implemented across the State through all the Municipalities," the court added.

Moreover, stressing that it is the obligation of the Nagarpalika Nainital to sterilize the dogs, Court ordered it to file an affidavit of the Executive Officer disclosing what steps have been taken to sterilize the stray dogs.

Court opined, "In our view, a balance has to be struck between the rights of the stray dogs on the one hand and human beings on the other hand and the life and liberty of the human beings cannot be sacrificed while preserving the rights of the stray dogs in the area."

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the year 2017 after eleven thousand cases of dog biting occurred across the State. It was alleged that due to dog bitings several persons died also.

The petitioner had asked the Court to consider as to "whether the life of a citizen is important than the stray dogs and whether the State authorities are duty bound/responsible for protecting/saving the life of the public of the State from the dog biting of stray dogs.”

During the course of hearing, Court had also suggested the State Government to consider for making law regarding killing of dangerous stray dogs.

Case Title: Girish Chandra Kholia v. State of Uttarakhand and others (WPPIL 84 of 2017)