HC sets 3-member panel for dog sterilisation

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 24

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has constituted a three-member committee, comprising a retired High Court judge, for sterilisation and vaccination of stray dogs in the city.

Taking up the matter, Justice Rajan Gupta said the committee would comprise former High Court Judge Justice Rakesh Kumar Garg, former IAS officer KR Lakhanpal and a journalist.

“It has become necessary to ensure that scheme floated in the year 2012 is implemented, sterilisation programme is effectively followed, vaccination of dogs is taken up in right earnest, proper treatment and immunisation facilities are provided by the government machinery and identification of vaccinated and sterilised dogs is carried out. This list is, of course, inclusive and not exhaustive. It appears that a committee needs to be constituted for overseeing the implementation of the steps in order to expedite the whole process… The committee is requested to submit its initial report within six weeks. It is further requested that committee may submit its bimonthly reports thereafter,” said Justice Gupta.

The court has also directed the High Court Legal Services Committee secretary to appoint advocate Ravi Kamal Gupta to assist the committee in the matter.

The matter was brought to the High Court’s notice by Gurmukh Singh. In his petition against the UT through counsel Kunal Mulwani, he had underscored the menace of street dogs in the city, particularly at Rose Garden.

The petitioner had alleged that he was chased by street dogs while on a morning walk in February this year. He had alleged that several cases of dog bite had been reported in the area. In his petition, he had questioned: “whether there was a need to have separate shelters for dogs, so that they do not prove a menace to the general public; and whether in the eventuality of dog bite in public place the corporation was liable to pay compensation to the citizen.”

The High Court, in October 2012, had directed the States of Punjab and Haryana, along with the Union Territory of Chandigarh, to frame a comprehensive scheme. A Division Bench had directed that scheme should be “in the form of rules or otherwise”, keeping in view a judgement and decree of a Delhi court, and “Comprehensive Guidelines for Dog Control and Management” framed by the High Court of Bombay in “CWP No. 1596 of 1998”.

The Bench had asserted: “On the lines of the rules, judgments/guidelines, comprehensive scheme(s) shall be formulated by the respondent – authorities within a period of two months from today and those would be effectively enforced/executed thereafter.”

Disposing of the petition, the Bench had concluded: “The respondents after formulating the scheme(s) within two months shall place the same before the court to signify that action as directed has been taken”.