Lawyer’s encounter with strays triggers debate in SC on dangers of dog attacks

Supreme Court discusses canine attacks in urban spaces after 14-yr-old dies from symptoms similar to rabies. Chief Justice notices lawyer with bandaged arm, offers medical care. Bench to hear views on pleas to euthanise “suspected rabid” and “extremely dangerous” stray dogs.

Canine attacks in crowded urban spaces became an impromptu topic of discussion in the Supreme Court on Monday with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta drawing the attention of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud to the recent tragic death of a 14-year-old boy from symptoms similar to rabies after being bitten by a dog in Uttar Pradesh.

Chief Justice Chandrachud, in turn, related how a clerk working in his office was attacked by stray dogs sometime ago.

The exchange came when the Chief Justice noticed a lawyer with a freshly bandaged arm in the courtroom. The advocate said he had been set upon by a gang of stray dogs.

The Chief Justice offered to immediately inform the in-house medical care facility to provide him with treatment even as the incident provoked a lively discussion on the increasing danger of dog attacks, especially on children.

In July, a Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and K.V. Viswanathan had agreed to hear the different views on pleas to euthanise “suspected rabid” and “extremely dangerous” stray dogs.

Animal rights activists had said the issue was a delicate one and required to be examined legally. They claimed animal birth control rules were not strictly implemented by the local authorities and people should not be allowed to treat stray dogs cruelly by branding them “rabid” or “dangerous”. They said there had been instances of stray dogs hanged or poisoned or thrown into rivers.