THE SUPREME COURT YESTERDAY directed the personal appearance of Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories that have failed to submit compliance affidavits on steps taken to tackle the stray dog menace, in line with its August 22 directions. The Court directed their appearance on November 3 – the next date of hearing.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N.V. Anjaria noted that, so far, only the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (‘MCD’), West Bengal, and Telangana had filed their compliance affidavits. The Bench ordered that Chief Secretaries of all remaining States and UTs must appear before the Court at 10:30 a.m. on November 3 and explain why compliance affidavits had not been filed.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the lack of response, Justice Nath remarked, “Continuous incidents are happening and the image of the country is being shown as down in the eyes of foreign nations. We are also reading news reports.”
When a counsel raised the issue of cruelty towards dogs, the Bench countered, “What about the cruelty towards humans?”
The Delhi government too had not filed its affidavit. Questioning the non-compliance, the Bench asked Additional Solicitor General Archana Pathak Dave to explain the inaction. “Why has the NCT of Delhi not filed its affidavit? The Chief Secretary must come up with an explanation... otherwise cost may be imposed and coercive steps will be taken. Notices were issued to all States and UTs... your officers don’t read newspapers or social media? Everyone has reported this. Once they are aware, they should come forward. All Chief Secretaries to remain present on November 3, else we will hold the Court in auditorium,” Justice Nath said.
