No coercive action on feeding stray dogs: SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday said no coercive action should be taken against citizens feeding stray dogs, after the Bombay high court on October 21 passed a blanket ban on feeding stray canines and directed Nagpur municipal authorities to penalise those violating its order with a fine of ₹200.

A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and JK Maheshwari found the omnibus ban imposed by the Nagpur bench of the HC to be unreasonable and said: “If stray dogs are not fed, they will become more aggressive.”

The bench said some part of the HC order needed modification and sought the responses from the Nagpur municipal corporation (NMC) and the Animal Welfare Board by November 16.

Without staying the HC order, the bench directed the NMC authorities not to take any coercive action against citizens who violate the high court’s order.

The high court passed a slew of directions on October 21 on two separate petitions by Nagpur residents seeking urgent solution to the growing menace of stray dogs. The HC recognised the fact that the problem caused by stray dogs had “increased beyond tolerable levels”.