3 days ago
Delhi HC asks Centre to consider plea for law against sexual crimes on animals
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (May 28, 2025) asked the Centre to treat as a representation a petition by the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) seeking urgent and specific legal provision to prosecute sexual crimes against animals.
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The petition came in the wake of the complete repeal of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code under the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
The plea argued that though Section 377 was rightly read down by the Supreme Court in its 2018 judgment to decriminalise consensual same-sex relationships, the Section's complete deletion from the BNS has inadvertently decriminalised sexual violence against animals, leaving them unprotected by law.
The plea said there is a 'legal vacuum' created by the omission of provision dealing with sexual crimes against animals, which were previously covered under Section 377.
FIAPO, in its plea, also highlighted close to 50 cases of sexual abuse against farmed, companion and wild animals.
It said in just the month of April 2025, three cases came to light: in Delhi's Shahdara area, where a man was arrested for allegedly raping multiple dogs; in Delhi's Saket area, where a pet dog was found unconscious on the road and died later, with a condom being retrieved from the dog's private parts; and in Coimbatore's Temple Town, where a construction worker was found sexually abusing a dog. The court, however, observed that it would not interfere with the legislative procedure. It directed the government to decide the issue in a time-bound manner.
