The Supreme Court eased its decision on stray dog removal in Delhi on Friday, calling its previous order ‘too harsh’. The bench consisting of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria modified the order on August 11. The new order allows sterilized and vaccinated street dogs to be returned to their original regions.
“The direction given in the order dated 11th August, 2025, prohibiting the release of the treated and vaccinated dogs seems to be too harsh, in our opinion,” the bench observed.
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The judges further stated that the municipal bodies need to access their resources before undertaking large-scale actions. “A blanket direction to pick up all the strays and place them in dog shelters/pounds without evaluating the existing infrastructure may lead to a catch-22 situation because such directions may be impossible to comply with,” the order noted.
The municipal corporations will set up designated dog feeding zones in each ward. Feeding dogs anywhere else but the feeding zones is prohibited now; any violations will have serious legal consequences. Municipal bodies have also been asked to create helpline numbers.
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The bench clearly stated that nobody should interfere when the municipal staff handles the dogs, and any organization of individual who does will be handled legally. “Each NGO or animal lover found creating a hindrance may be directed to pay ₹25,000 as costs,” the order stated.
