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Synopsis

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) told the Delhi High Court on Monday that the process of releasing the dogs that were captured in preparation for the G20 Summit has already been initiated in strict adherence to the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 and with the assistance of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI).

The 2023 G20 New Delhi summit was the eighteenth meeting of G20. It was held in Bharat Mandapam International Exhibition-Convention Centre, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi on September 9-10, 2023.

A division bench comprising of CJ Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula said, “the Respondent authorities are directed to ensure strict compliance with all the provisions prescribed under the ABC Rules relating to the capture and release of street dogs”.

The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) bringing attention to the mechanism adopted by the MCD for the capture and subsequent release of street dogs in Delhi during special events like Independence Day, Republic Day and most recently, the G20 Summit, 2023.

The counsel for the petitioner submitted that the detailed mechanism for the capture and release of dogs has been prescribed under the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 (ABC Rules) and should be followed diligently by the MCD.

The counsel also highlighted that the ABC Rules mandate that the dogs should be identified with numbered collars immediately upon capture so that proper records can be maintained which would subsequently facilitate their release in the same locality from where they were captured. He further argued that the assistance of the AWBI should be sought by the MCD.

The MCD informed that the process of releasing the dogs that were captured in preparation for the G20 Summit had already been initiated in strict adherence to the ABC Rules and with the assistance of the AWBI. The submissions were affirmed by the counsel for the AWBI.

Case Title: Anita Santiago v. Municipal Corporation of Delhi & Ors.