Stray dogs row in Supreme Court: Bench slams civic inaction for NCR menace; reserves order after clash over lack of shelters, ABC rule violations
NEW DELHI: There was no resolution on Thursday of the emotionally charged dispute over a two-judge Supreme Court bench's order to remove all stray dogs from the streets of the Capital and the NCR region, with a three-judge bench of the court reserving its order after a high-wattage hearing which saw the rights of humans being pitted against those of animals.
A three-judge bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria blamed the inaction and inefficiency of the local authorities in implementing Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules for the proliferation of stray dogs on the streets of NCR.
Chief Justice of India B R Gavai had constituted a three-judge bench in response to strong protests against the order passed by Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan on Tuesday asking the authorities to pick up the strays and pack them off to pounds.
You Can Also Check:
Delhi AQI
|
Weather in Delhi
|
Bank Holidays in Delhi
|
Public Holidays in Delhi
|
Gold Rates Today in Delhi
|
Silver Rates Today in Delhi
Animal rights activists and others have pointed out that the order was drastic and flew in the face of an earlier order of the apex court which said a solution to the problem of stray dogs, whose numbers have swelled, has to be consistent with the ABC rules, which stipulate that the canines removed for sterilisation and vaccination have to be brought back to the localities they inhabited.
The high-wattage hearing on Thursday saw the two sides bringing emotive issues of "cruelty towards voiceless" and "vocal minority versus silent suffering majority" into play as solicitor general Tushar Mehta and additional solicitor general Archanan Pathak Dave supporting Tuesday's order faced off with a bevy of top lawyers - Kapil Sibal, A M Singhvi, Sidharth Luthra, K Venugopal, Aman Lekhi, Colin Gonsalves, Sidharth Dave, among others - arrayed on the side of canines.
Opposing the plea of animal rights activists, the solicitor general stoutly defended the division bench's order and told the court that innocent humans should not suffer and lose their lives because of dog-bites. "I have seen people posting videos of their eating meat and then claiming to be animal lovers...There are instances of children dying due to rabies after dog bites. There are videos of dog bites which are so horrific that we cannot see them," Mehta said.
Referring to Economic Times reports and WHO statistics, the SG told the bench that 37 lakh dog-bite cases are reported every year, with the annual figure for rabies deaths at about 20,000. "Only four or five species of snakes are poisonous. But we don't keep them at home. Nobody is saying we should kill dogs, but they need to be separated. Kids are not able to play outside as children are getting ravaged and mutilated by stray dogs ," the SG said.
Leading the team of advocates, Sibal submitted that the order could not have been passed in this manner without hearing the other side and there weren't enough shelter homes for stray dogs. Removal of stray dogs from streets has to be stayed, as there was a likelihood of their being culled, he said.
Singhvi said the order was akin to putting the cart before the horse as there are not enough places to keep the canines, and informed the court that there had been no case of death because of rabies in the last five years.
The court reserved its order after hearing both the sides.
Stay updated with the latest local news from your
city
on
Times of India
(TOI). Check upcoming
bank holidays
,
public holidays
, and current
gold rates
and
silver prices
in your area.
Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with
Happy Independence Day wishes
,
messages
, and
quotes
!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
22 minutes ago
- Economic Times
GST 2.0 to offer treatment for other pain points too
Live Events Special levy for sin goods (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The proposed goods and services tax (GST) 2.0, hammered out over months of extensive deliberations, will go beyond the mere reduction of rates. It will be a deep-dive overhaul of the indirect tax framework that was rolled out eight years ago, officials said. The revamp will seek to bring an end to classification disputes duty inversions and procedural issues to provide stability and clarity to businesses, they exercise will also be accompanied by a push for greater alignment and coordination between the state and central tax authorities on assessment, audit and investigation to ensure that businesses do not face multiple actions for the same matter, the officials GST Council , the apex decision-making body on the levy, is likely to meet September 18-19 to take up the proposed changes, they said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had highlighted the coming changes in GST during his Independence Day address on Friday, calling it a 'Diwali gift' for the people of the country. GST 2.0 will also reduce the tax burden by having only two major slabs — 5% and 18%. 'Rate rationalisation is one part of the proposal, but it goes much beyond that… This is an opportunity for a wider reform of the structure,' one of the officials told decisions by various courts on the taxation of the same items had given rise to ambiguity, he said. Other challenges related to inverted duty structures and input tax credit are being addressed through this exercise in a comprehensive manner, the person said.'GST with multiple changes every now and then had become a work in progress,' another official said.'The proposed exercise aims to revamp and simplify the structure in a holistic and comprehensive way instead of a piecemeal exercise,' official recast also aims to resolve classification disputes that have arisen due to different varieties of similar goods having been placed in various slabs. The official said no differentiation would be made on account of divergent prices for the same good as a related to whether a namkeen is extrusion-based or non-extrusion-based or whether a product is sweet or savoury — thus attracting different tax rates — will not arise following the changes. The Centre, in its proposal, has sought to scrap the 12% and 28% slabs, retaining only the 5% and 18% rates. Most of the items of daily consumption, those used in farming or related to health are expected to be in the 5% bracket. A special rate of 40% will be introduced for about half-adozen items that will include so-called sin goods and luxury cars.'We have examined each item and issues around it,' the second official said. 'The idea was to look ahead and not how it was done in the past, line by line… It was an intensive and rigorous exercise.'The proposal has already been sent to the group of ministers (GoM) that the GST Council had set up on rate rationalisation. The panel will deliberate on the Centre's proposal in the coming week. The GoM's recommendations will be placed before the GST Centre will hold discussions with the states on the proposal, which has the potential to perk up domestic consumption and bolster growth. Officials are hopeful that the timelines can be met to meet the festive season shopping date.
Time of India
34 minutes ago
- Time of India
PM to inaugurate 2 NH projects of Delhi-NCR today
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate two national highway projects of Delhi-NCR worth nearly Rs 11,000 crore on Sunday, which will ease traffic on the national capital's Inner and Outer Ring Roads as well as at busy points such as Mukarba Chowk, Dhaula Kuan and NH-9. The projects — the Delhi section of Dwarka Expressway and the Urban Extension Road-II (UER-II) — have been developed under the govt's comprehensive plan to decongest the national capital, aimed at improving connectivity, cutting travel time and reducing traffic in Delhi and its surrounding areas. Chief minister Rekha Gupta, along with senior party functionaries, visited the inauguration site on Saturday and its surroundings to review the preparations and issued necessary instructions. You Can Also Check: Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi | Gold Rates Today in Delhi | Silver Rates Today in Delhi Describing the project as a "historic gift" for the city, the chief minister said that the commencement of UER-II would not only move Delhi closer to becoming a traffic-free capital but would also strengthen connectivity across the national capital region. She added that the corr-idor will play a vital role in reducing congestion, lowering vehicular pollution, and thereby contributing to a cleaner and healthier environment The 10-km Delhi section of the expressway, developed at a cost of around Rs 5,360 crore, will provide multi-modal connectivity to Yashobhoomi, Delhi Metro's Blue and Orange lines, the upcoming Bijwasan railway station and Dwarka cluster bus depot. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Modi had inaugurated the expressway's 19-km section falling in Gurgaon in March 2024, just ahead of the Lok Sabha election. The PM will also inaugurate the Alipur to Dichaon Kalan stretch of UER-II along with new links to Bahadurgarh and Sonipat, built at a cost of around Rs 5,580 crore. UER-II has been divided into five packages, and the PM had earlier inaugurated one of them. The road transport and highways ministry has taken up projects worth over Rs 50,000 crore to decongest the national capital and its adjoining areas. Union minister Nitin Gadkari has also announced more projects to improve connectivity and reduce congestion on Delhi roads. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
SC's interference in Prez-guv powers will destabilise power balance: Govt
Supreme Court NEW DELHI: In a blazing response to Supreme Court 's judgment fixing deadlines for President and governors in granting or withholding assent to bills passed by assemblies, Centre on Saturday warned impermissible invasion of constitutionally conferred high plenary zone on the top constitutional post holders by SC in the garb of judicial review powers would destabilise the balance of powers among the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. "A wide-ranging judicial review of assent procedures, either post-assent or at a stage anterior to the grant of assent, would potentially destabilise the constitutional balance between organs of State. It would create an institutional hierarchy and upset the constitutional balance of powers between the three organs," it said, adding the judiciary does not hold keys or solutions for every conundrum that may arise in a democratic society. Objecting to the manner in which SC used its exclusive powers under Article 142 to arrogate itself the power to amend the Constitution to fix deadlines for the President and governors in granting or withholding assent to bills and grant "deemed assent" to 10 Tamil Nadu bills, the Centre said, "Article 142 does not empower the court to create a concept of 'deemed assent', turning the constitutional & legislative process on its head. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Next-Level Tablet Experience Awaits with Blackview MEGA 8 BlackView Shop Now Undo " In its written submissions filed Saturday in support of President Droupadi Murmu's reference raising 14 queries to situations arising after the contentious Apr 8 judgment by Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, Centre said exercising judicial powers over decisions of the President and governors in relation to bills would confer supremacy on judiciary, which is against the Constitution's basic structure, a red line that cannot be crossed by any organ of governance. "The classical notion of judicial review cannot be lifted and applied to assent as the factors at play during the grant or withholding of assent have no legal or constitutional parallel. The unique duality of assent thus deserves a uniquely calibrated judicial approach," it said. It said each of the three organs of governance derive power from the Constitution, which does not assign any higher pedigree or superiority to any one organ that would enable judiciary to relegate the high position of gubernatorial post to a subservient one. Issues relating to bills, with regard to decisions of the President and governors, "deserve political answers and not necessarily judicial," the Centre said. Certain political questions may arise in the exercise of the core functions of any of the three organs, and these would have been answered through democratic remedies under the Constitution. The judiciary, in the zest of finding a solution to every problem, cannot brush aside the essential constitutional feature of separation of powers, the Centre said. Though some overlap has happened over the years despite clear separation of powers envisaged by the Constitution, the powers and limitations of these three organs flow from the same constitutional text without ascribing "any higher pedigree or superior legitimacy to any organ", it said. Notwithstanding the overlap, certain zones remain exclusive to each - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary, it said, adding none can trench upon the domain exclusive to another. Disapproving the manner in which the Tamil Nadu governor was treated in SC's Apr 8 judgment, the Centre said governors are not foreigners in states, not just emissaries of the Centre but represent national interest and democratic will in states as part of national fraternity. "When the Constitution seeks to impose time limits for taking certain decisions, it specifically mentions such time limits. On the other hand, when it designedly sought to keep the exercise of powers flexible, it did not impose any fixed time limit. Since the text of Art 200 or 201, does not provide a specific time limit, no form of judicial review or judicial interpretation can impose the same." it said.
