India Supreme Court Warns on Stray Dog Attack Liability

India's Supreme Court issued a stern warning on Tuesday to central and state governments, as well as individuals who feed stray dogs, holding them accountable for injuries and deaths caused by animal attacks. The bench, comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N.V. Anjaria, emphasized the need for strict enforcement of existing animal control norms during a hearing in New Delhi on ongoing petitions related to stray dogs in public spaces.

The court expressed frustration over the persistent failure to implement the Animal Birth Control rules, which have been in place since 1957. "We are going to take the Union government and state governments to task," the bench stated. "The issue has been ongoing forever. It is because of the Union and state governments that the problem has multiplied 1000 times. Complete failure on the part of the Union and state governments." For every dog bite, injury, or death, particularly affecting children and the elderly, the justices said they would impose heavy compensation on the responsible authorities. Justice Nath added, "For every dog bite, death or injury caused to children or elderly, we are going to ask the state governments to pay...