The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a plea seeking exemption from the personal appearance of Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories in the ongoing stray dog menace case, making it clear that they must appear in person before the court on November 3.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta expressed strong disapproval over the continued non-compliance with the court’s earlier directions, remarking that there was “no respect for the order of the court.”
“We are trying to solve issues that should have been handled by the state governments. They show no respect for our order. When we require them to file compliance affidavits, they are just sleeping over it. Let them come; we will deal with them,” the bench said.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta urged the court to allow the Chief Secretaries to appear via video conferencing, but the bench firmly refused.
“Sorry, they have to come physically to the court,” the judges stated.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court had similarly dismissed the Bihar government’s plea seeking personal appearance exemption for its Chief Secretary in the same matter.
The bench expressed its displeasure that the apex court’s time was being consumed by issues that should have been addressed long ago by municipal bodies and state administrations.
“It is very unfortunate that the court is wasting time dealing with problems that should have been resolved by the state governments. Parliament frames rules, but no action is taken,” the bench observed.
Earlier, on October 27, the Supreme Court had directed Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories—except West Bengal and Telangana—to appear before it on November 3 for failing to file compliance affidavits regarding stray dog management.
The case stems from the court’s August 22 order, which modified a previous direction mandating the removal of stray dogs to shelters. The bench clarified that stray dogs may be released back to their original locations after sterilisation and immunisation, except those infected with rabies or exhibiting aggressive behavior. It also barred feeding stray dogs in public places.
With states yet to comply, the Supreme Court has now expanded the scope of the case to cover all of India and directed that all states and Union Territories file their compliance affidavits without further delay.
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