'No Data On Dog Bites, Building Castles In The Air': SC To States In Stray Dogs Case
The bench said it is not impressed with the progress and orally remarked that states were engaged in 'storytelling'.
By Sumit Saxena
Published : January 28, 2026 at 7:44 PM IST
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed its discontent with the state governments for failing to comply with its directions to expand stray dog sterilisation facilities and added that none of the states, except Assam, have given data on how many stray dog bites happened.
The bench orally observed that authorities were "building castles in the air" instead of taking concrete steps.
The matter came up before a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N V Anjaria. The bench commenced hearing states submissions on compliance of its earlier directions. The bench said it is not impressed with the progress and orally remarked that states were engaged in "storytelling".
Senior advocate Gaurav Agarwal, who has been appointed amicus curiae in the matter, summarised the initiatives taken by different states, while also highlighting the gaps and deficiencies in their approach. He emphasised that governments will have to step up animal birth control (ABC) facilities, ramp up sterilisation of stray dogs.
Agarwal submitted that some states have taken steps in consonance with the top court's direction, but there was still a long way to go for total compliance. He added that the states would have to set up dog pounds (animal shelters), fence up institutional areas, and remove stray animals from roads and highways.
The bench was informed that in Assam there were 1.66 lakh dog bites reported in 2024, but the state has only one dog centre. "It is astonishing. In 2024, there were 1.66 lakh bites. And in 2025, only in January, there were 20,900. This is shocking," said the bench.
Agarwal, pointing at the initiatives taken by the Bihar government, said there are 34 ABC Centres where, they say, 20,648 dogs have been sterilised. He added that they have not specified the daily capacity of sterilisation, and for what period the figure specifies.
Agarwal said the state should have done a complete audit of ABC centres. “If there are more than six lakh dogs in the state, sterilisation of 20,648 dogs is totally insufficient. Ninety-one dogs are presently lodged in the pounds", he added.
Agarwal submitted that the affidavit does not indicate in how many institutional areas the survey has been done to see if there are fences, boundary walls, etc. The bench said, "They are all building castles in the air", and added that none of the states have given data on how many stray dog bites happened, except for Assam.
Advocate Manish Kumar, appearing for the Bihar government, however, said the state was putting things in place, and substantial progress will be made within three months.
The bench said that states cannot make vague statements, and added, "We are going to pass strong strictures against states that make vague averments….".
The top court also heard the submissions of Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Gujarat. It observed non-compliance of directions for fencing of institutional areas to prevent ingress of stray animals into schools and hospitals.
The bench said every public building should be fenced, not only because of stray dogs or other animals but also to protect the property from theft. It said that states have engaged in "storytelling and nothing concrete appears to have been done on the ground".
Agrawal said he will summarise the steps taken by Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana on Thursday. The apex court has scheduled the matter for hearing on Thursday.
The bench was hearing a suo motu case, initiated on July 28 2025, over a media report on stray dog bites leading to rabies, particularly among children, in New Delhi.
Read More
