SC issues notices to UP Govt, Animal Welfare Board

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Uttar Pradesh government and the Animal Welfare Board of India on a plea alleging the widespread culling of stray dogs in Sitapur district of the state following deaths of several children in the past few months in the area.

A vacation bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and MM Shantanagoudar also issued notices to the District Magistrate of Sitapur and the state's animal welfare board on the plea that has sought an interim stay on the further culling of stray dogs.

Senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for one of the parties, said there were two conflicting reports on the deaths of children in Sitapur district. One report said that children have been dying after being bitten by some wild animals like hyenas, while the DM'S report suggested otherwise that the deaths have occurred due to dog bites, the lawyer said. The bench has posted the plea, filed by Gargi Srivastava, for hearing on June 8. The apex court had earlier agreed to hear on Friday the plea against the alleged rampant culling of stray dogs in Sitapur district.

The petition has sought a direction to the state government to ensure that no more killings of community dogs take place in the state as an after-effect of the death of 13 children in the past seven months in Sitapur unless it was established that dogs were behind such attacks.

The plea said that subsequent investigations had pointed towards attacks on children by wild animals and not stray dogs.

It has alleged that there was “indiscriminate and inhuman killing” of stray dogs in Sitapur on the mere assumption that dog attacks were allegedly causing the deaths.

According to the plea, the attacks have increased due to lack of proper and timely efforts by the district admin- istration and the magnitude of the problem grew this month when unconfirmed reports of attacks being carried out by stray dogs appeared in the media after statements by the district magistrate of Sitapur.

“Following such newspaper reports, indiscriminate and brutal killing of community dogs by hanging them alive, burying them alive, hitting them with ‘lathis' (wooden stick), leaving them to bleed to death in a pile of garbage and shooting them point blank started,” the plea said.

“This rampant massacre led to over 150 community dogs being brutally killed over a span of few days by not only the local people but also under orders of the village panchayats, police officials as well as the officers from the district administration,” it claimed.

“The applicant herein is conscious of the plight of the families of the victims and cannot even imagine their grief but the approach of the government and the administration in brushing aside this issue and leading to culling of numerous dogs in the area is nothing but a failed attempt to cover up their inactions as per earlier orders of this court in the instant matter,” the plea said.

It alleged that the top court, in its November 18, 2015 order, had categorically directed all local authorities and panchayats not to kill stray dogs.

The petition said that animal welfare groups had constituted a committee which visited Sitapur and found that massacre of dogs was allowed by the district administration and the police. It alleged that according to the local people, the district administration had hired people to catch and kill dogs and they were being paid Rs 600 per dog. NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Centre as well as Assam and Meghalaya governments on a plea of son of a missing mediator who was working to bring truce between the Government of India and separatist outfit United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) since 1991.

Mediator Rebati Phukan's son has claimed that his father had gone missing on April 22 and had quoted LFA chief Paresh Baruah as saying that he may be in the custody of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) or the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) or Military Intelligence or the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as they “have a rivalry amongst them”.

A vacation bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and M M Shantanagoudar issued notice to various parties including Centre, Assam and Meghalaya after senior advocate Geeta Luthra appearing for Phukan claimed that a doctor has reportedly treated him in Meghalaya few days back.

Luthra said although the Assam chief minister have assured all possible help in finding Phukan but they do not know whether he was in captivity, as various Central agencies are involved in it. She said it is a habeas corpus (a writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a court) petition filed by the son seeking direction to find his missing father.

The bench asked Luthra, “Why can't you (Kaushik Phukan) approach the high court for relief. Why have you come to Delhi from North East. They can also do what we can do”.

Luthra said two states and various central agencies are involved in the matter.

The bench said that since two states (Assam and Meghalaya) are involved in the matter, it is issuing notice to all the parties listed as respondents.

Rebati Phukan was working as a peace negotiator between the Centre and ULFA since 1991 to facilitate a peace dialogue. The plea filed by his son sought direction to the authorities, including Assam government, to produce Phukan before the court. He had also urged the court that the case be transferred to CBI or any other independent agency or a special investigating team as there was “a loss of faith in the local police” due to its alleged lethargic conduct. Kaushik has said in his plea that despite the registration of an FIR, no proactive steps have been taken till date by the police to trace his father, who was appointed as a member of the erstwhile People's Consultative Group (PCG) formed by the ULFA in 2005 to mediate between the outfit and the Centre.