The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce on Friday (August 22, 2025), its ruling on a batch of interim pleas seeking a stay on its contentious August 11, 2025, suo motu directive requiring civic authorities in Delhi and four adjoining districts to capture all stray dogs and confine them in shelters within six to eight weeks.

Also read | Delhi’s stray dog crisis demands a One Health response

While reserving the case for judgment, a Bench led by Justice Vikram Nath, and also comprising Justices Sandeep Mehta and N.V. Anjaria, had remarked that local civic authorities were failing in their duty to address the growing public health risks posed by stray dogs.

Also read | Shelter or vaccinate: Before deciding, India must count its stray dogs accurately

The Bench highlighted that Delhi recorded as many as 25,201 dog-bite cases in 2024 and said that its directions were being issued in the larger public interest. At the same time, the order had directed authorities to ensure that canines in shelters are neither mistreated nor deprived of food and that vulnerable animals are housed separately with access to veterinary care.

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