SC refuses stay on culling of dogs in UP's Sitapur
New Delhi, June 8: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to pass any order to stay the alleged culling of stray dogs by authorities in Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh following deaths of over a dozen children in the past seven months.
As the apex court was urged to step in and stop the culling of strays by the municipal body in Sitapur, a vacation bench of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Ashok Bhushan directed the matter be listed before an appropriate bench in July.
Senior counsel Vibha Dutta Makhija, appearing for petitioner -- advocate Gargi Srivastava -- told the court that authorities were illegally culling dogs in Sitapur due to the fear psychosis generated due to the death of children.
Referring to a 2015 Supreme Court order that said that local bodies were bound by the rules framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, in eliminating stray dogs "irretrievably ill or mortally wounded" in a humane manner, Makhija told the court that the district administration was misrepresenting the facts.
By its November 18, 2015, order, the top court had said: "There can be no trace of doubt that there has to be compassion for dogs and they should not be killed in an indiscriminate manner, but indubitably the lives of the human beings are to be saved and one should not suffer due to dog bite because of administrative lapse."
Makhija told the court that deaths in Sitapur districts were not due to dog bites but attack by some other wild animal.
Urging the apex court to extend its directions issued in case of Kerala to this case also, the senior counsel told the bench that the Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Bareilly had said that dogs had not caused the deaths in Sitapur.
The petitioner sought direction to the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure that no more cullings of community dogs took place, unless it was established that dogs were responsible for the fatal attacks.
She also sought a direction to the state to take immediate action and lodge FIRs against those involved in aiding and abetting the culling of stray dogs without following the due process of law and an inquiry against erring district officials.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
