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Hindustan Times
8 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
SC stray dog order spotlights poor pet registration in Delhi
The Supreme Court's recent directive to relocate stray dogs in Delhi-NCR has put the spotlight on another long-standing problem — the capital's dismal pet dog registration rate. Despite it being mandatory under Section 399 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD) Act, only 5,767 pet dogs are registered in the city, with 381 applications pending, according to MCD data. The Supreme Court ruling on Monday had outright rejected the idea of stray dogs being adopted. It focused solely on relocation of community dogs and made no specific directive on pet dog registration. (AFP/Representational image) Officials warn that this gap leaves a dangerous grey area between pets and strays, opening the door to disputes and misuse of the complaint system. 'Registration and the token serve as proof of ownership. With the recent SC judgment, we expect a surge in applications, especially for adopted indigenous breeds,' said a senior MCD official. Non-registration can attract fines and prosecution under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita dealing with negligent behaviour with respect to animals. The Act also allows detention of unregistered dogs found in public places, a step veterinary officials say is rarely enforced. Experts warn that poor compliance risks deepening confusion and triggering disputes. Gauri Maulekhi, activist and trustee at People for Animals (PFA), said the lack of registration creates a grey area between pets and community dogs. 'Some people collar strays, keep them indoors for long periods, or adopt indies as full-fledged pets. If neither strays nor pets are tagged, it's bound to cause confusion,' she said, adding that this could even pit neighbours against each other. 'A neighbour might report my dog as a stray, or conversely, collar a stray and claim it's a long-time pet.' The Supreme Court ruling on Monday had outright rejected the idea of stray dogs being adopted. It focused solely on relocation of community dogs and made no specific directive on pet dog registration. Asher Jesudoss, whose 2022 plea in the Delhi high court led to the creation of the Delhi Animal Welfare Board, said that since very few dogs are registered in Delhi, one can find it difficult to differentiate between pets and strays. 'As the name suggests, community dogs are those that belong to the entire community. But nothing stops an individual from collaring the stray and taking it indoors and keeping it as a pet. As per our rules, all breeds and dogs need to be registered. MCD needs to register all pets as proving ownership otherwise becomes tricky,' he said. Pet registration can be done online, with a uniform ₹500 fee. A veterinary official said actual registrations are far below the real number of pets. 'We issue a brass token for the dog's collar, which also lets us track vaccination status,' the official added.
Indian Express
8 minutes ago
- Indian Express
CJI not superior to other SC judges, has same judicial powers: Justice Gavai
The Chief Justice of India is not superior to other judges of the Supreme Court and exercises the same judicial powers as the rest, Chief Justice B R Gavai said on Tuesday. The CJI made the observation as a three-judge bench, presided by him and comprising Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria, took up an application by the Enforcement Directorate for recall of the court's April 26, 2023 judgment in Ritu Chhabaria vs. Union of India & Ors case. A two-judge bench of Justices (retired) Krishna Murari and C T Ravikumar it its 2023 judgment deprecated the 'practice' of investigating agencies filing chargesheet in court even before completion of probe so as to deny default bail to accused, and said that even in such cases the right of the accused to default bail will not be extinguished. As per the law, the chargesheet has to be filed within 60 days from the date of arrest of the accused in cases triable by lower courts and 90 days in cases triable by a sessions court. Failure to file the chargesheet within this period entitles an accused to default bail. Days after the April 26 ruling, the ED approached the SC and told a bench presided by then CJI D Y Chandrachud that the Delhi High Court had granted bail to the accused in a case probed by it based on the SC judgment in the Ritu Chhabaria case. The agency pointed out that the decision will have nationwide repercussions. By order dated May 12, 2023, the SC suspended the operation of the April 26 judgment. On Tuesday, CJI Gavai expressed his displeasure over the one-judge bench, even if that be the CJI-headed bench, hearing appeals against judgements of any other bench of the SC. 'When a bench of two learned judges of this court grants any relief, can another bench, merely because it sits in court number 1, of the same strength, sit in appeal over that judgment,' asked CJI Gavai. He said, 'We believe in adherence to the judicial propriety, judicial discipline. If we go on permitting this, then one bench merely because it does not like an order, will go on interfering with the orders of the other bench.' 'The Chief Justice of India is not superior to the other judges. He is the first among the others. The CJI exercises the same judicial powers as all other judges of this court,' the CJI said. Appearing for ED, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the three-judge bench that the petitioner in the matter in which the April 26 judgment was delivered had 'misused' the court's jurisdiction. He said initially, a person filed a petition saying her husband was in jail and sought permission to allow her to send him home-cooked food. 'Thereafter the petitioner (in the April 26 matter) filed a similar petition that 'my husband is also in jail, so permit me to serve him home-cooked food'. The petitioner further pointed out that a similar petition (the first petition) is pending before a particular bench… Both matters are listed together. Then first (petition) pales into insignificance. Subsequently, an Interlocutory Application (IA) is filed…in the second petition where the main prayer is home-cooked food. It says the chargesheet is filed with Section 173(8) CrPC, which says that further investigation is going on…' 'The SC (two-judge) bench takes the view that once you file a chargesheet with 173(8), you will get default bail because it is an incomplete chargesheet,' the SG said, adding that this was contrary to multiple larger-bench judgements. 'Thereafter all-across India, people started filing default bail applications once chargesheet was filed (with section 173(8)).' The counsel for the respondents sought to clarify that in the writ petition for allowing home-cooked food, the IA for default bail was filed before the first hearing of the case. On the first hearing, IA was allowed, and notice was issued in the writ petition. The SG said if the court did not want to look at the recall request, it can still consider the ED's SLP filed against the Delhi High Court order and settle the law. The court finally agreed to list it before a three-judge bench.
Indian Express
8 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Modi likely to be in US next month for UNGA meet, bilateral talks with Trump
Preparations are underway to schedule a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US in the last week of September, The Indian Express has learnt. The ostensible reason is to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York, but a key objective will be to meet US President Donald Trump, iron out the issues on trade and arrive at a common ground on tariffs. This will also give an opportunity for the two leaders to announce a trade deal. However, for this to fructify, a lot of moving parts have to fall in place. There has to be movement on two fronts — the Russia-Ukraine war and the Indo-US trade deal. Negotiations are underway on both fronts, and the stakes for Delhi are high since it has been slapped with 50 per cent tariffs by the US — 25 per cent for its high tariffs and 25 per cent penalty for buying Russian oil. On the Russia-Ukraine war front, Delhi is closely following the meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15 to discuss a resolution to the war in Ukraine. Modi has already spoken to Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the last few days. A resolution to the conflict is in India's interest, sources said, and this has been conveyed to both leaders. On the trade deal front, Indian and American negotiators had been close to sealing a deal, but the US President was not happy about the deal that was agreed between the interlocutors. So, the negotiators have to discuss the terms of the deal further, and they have to offer new terms, as red lines have been drawn. But the two sides are focused on the new goal for bilateral trade — 'Mission 500' — aiming to more than double total bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. This was decided during Modi's visit to the White House where he met Trump in February this year. They had also agreed that to realise this ambition, they would require new, fair-trade terms, and they had announced plans to negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by fall this year. And to conclude a wide-ranging BTA, the US and India had agreed to take an integrated approach to strengthen and deepen bilateral trade across the goods and services sector, and work towards increasing market access, reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers, and deepening supply chain integration. But that has run into rough weather. And the officials and negotiators have to unlock the issues and negotiate a deal by September last week – the Prime Minister's visit to the US is expected to 'dot the i's and cross the t's', sources said. Now, to schedule the visit, as a first step, the Indian side has reached out to the UN headquarters for a speaking slot for the Prime Minister at the UN General Assembly. As of now, that has been scheduled for September 26 morning. Trump is slated to speak on September 23. At the UNGA, permanent missions to the UN have to indicate the level of representation from each country, and the speaking slot of 15-minutes is granted accordingly. If the PM's visit takes place, it will give an opportunity to speak at the UNGA and hold bilateral meetings with Trump and other world leaders. Zelenskyy also indicated Monday, after his phone call with Modi, that they 'agreed to plan a personal meeting in September during the UN General Assembly'. Sources said plans are underway since the entire process of accreditation and travel arrangements to the UN needs to be completed in August. Ties between India and the US have been impacted in recent months after Trump claimed to have brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan — a claim denied by Delhi. He followed it with diatribes against India on tariffs, and imposed 50 per cent tariffs. Sources said that since the two countries are strategic partners, they have to sort out the issues, and the PM's visit will be to smoothen the issues, so that a visit by the US President to India can take place in October for the summit of Quad leaders.
