‘Top court’s directive asserts that lawful processes are not optional, but binding’

On August 22, 2025, the Supreme Court of India issued an order of exceptional importance in the ongoing debate on community dogs, public health, and civic responsibility.

- Maneka Gandhi

In one stroke, it brought order to chaos, reaffirming the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, as the only lawful and scientific framework for dog population management across the country.

The court's rulings layered in meaning. It recognises that humane science is not at odds with public health, butiis its foundation. It affirms that those who care for animals cannot be harassed or criminalised. And it asserts that lawful processes are notoptional but binding on every municipality. In doing so, the top court has shifted the national narrative from conflict and confusion to a framework of structured coexistence.

Only Il days earlier, municipal bodies, armed with a vague one-line order, had begun indiscriminate mass roundups of dogs. Their fate was uncertain; their carers were threatened. The new order records this grim reality, warning of the dangers when governance strays from established rules: it breeds confusion, cruelty, and conflict.

The interim order, delivered by three judges after a week of nail-biting anxiety for lakhs of people, is scientific and, more importantly, classical — in the sense thatit reaffirms earlier rulings by 40 courts and a previous Supreme Court bench. It aligns with policies framed 25 years ago by the government and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Itmakes the following points:

“Stray dogs will be released back to the same area after sterili-sation and immunisation, except those infected with rabies or exhibiting aggressive behaviour.”