Stray dog attack on foreigners affects public safety, tourism, country's image: SC
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New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday referred to a media report about a stray dog attack on a foreign national in Bengaluru and said such incidents have not only affected public safety and tourism but also the country's image globally.
A three-judge special bench comprising justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria referred to the incident in which a Welsh entrepreneur was bitten by a stray dog during a morning run.
"This incident underscores that the menace is neither confined to rural or densely populated localities nor limited to vulnerable citizens, but has assumed proportions that affect public safety, tourism, and the image of the country in the global perspective," the bench said.
The top court passed a slew of directions in a suo motu case concerning stray dog menace.
It said after Independence, despite significant advances in public health, India continues to report one of the world's highest statistics of rabies-related mortality.
The bench said recognising the need for a humane yet effective framework, the Centre, in exercise of its powers under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, promulgated the Animal Birth Control Rules.
"However, the implementation of these rules has been ineffective, to say the least, across jurisdictions and the persistence of stray dog population has continued to imperil public safety in many parts of the country," it said.
The bench said educational institutions, particularly schools and colleges with open campuses, have emerged as areas of recurring dog-bite incidents.
It said frequency of such incidents reflects deficiencies in institutional responsibility and municipal oversight concerning the safety of educational environments.
The bench said in hospitals and several tertiary-care centres, patients, attendants and staff have been attacked by packs of dogs residing within hospital compounds.
"Ironically, the very institutions entrusted with the treatment of dog-bite victims, have themselves become susceptible to the menace," it said.
The bench said the continuous inflow of dog-bite victims has strained medical resources, particularly the availability of anti-rabies vaccines and immunoglobulins, which are often in short supply.
It also took cognisance of numerous reported incidents of stray dog attacks at public transport hubs, including bus stands, depots and railway stations across several states.
The court noted that underlying causes of this menace are multifaceted, including uncontrolled reproduction of stray dogs owing to inadequate implementation of sterilisation programmes and improper disposal of food waste in and around public institutions.
"The menace of dog bites, particularly in public and private institutions that serve as spaces of learning, healing and recreation, thus constitutes not merely a public-health challenge but a matter of human safety concern," it said.
The bench said the State and its instrumentalities bear an affirmative obligation to ensure that no citizen, including children, elderly people and patients, are exposed to preventable injury or disease within public premises.
Taking note of the "alarming rise" in dog bite incidents within institutional areas like educational institutions, hospitals and railway stations, the apex court directed the forthwith relocation of stray canines to designated shelters after due sterilisation and vaccination.
It posted the matter for further hearing on January 13.
The apex court is hearing a suo motu case, initiated on July 28 over a media report on stray dog bites leading to rabies, particularly among children, in the national capital.
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SC refuses to entertain plea against deletion of names from WB voter list, terms it ‘premature’
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New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea by a group of 13 people seeking its intervention in the deletion of their names from the voter list during the Special Institutional Revision (SIR) in West Bengal, where polling for the first phase of the assembly election will be held on April 23.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi termed the petition "premature", directing the aggrieved parties to approach the established appellate tribunals instead.
"Since the petitioners (Quaraisha Yeasmin and others) have already approached the appellate tribunals… in our considered view, the apprehensions expressed in the petition are premature. If the plea is allowed, then necessary consequences will follow,” the bench said in its order, adding that it has not expressed any views on the merits of the plea.
The plea alleged that the Election Commission was summarily deleting names without following due process, and that appeals against these deletions were not being heard in a timely manner.
The Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court has set up as many as 19 tribunals headed by former HC chief justices and judges to decide appeals against deletions of names of persons from the voters’ lists.
Senior advocate D S Naidu, appearing for the poll panel, informed the court that there are approximately 30 to 34 lakh appeals currently pending. "Every tribunal now has over one lakh appeals to handle," the bench said.
The petitioners’ counsel argued that the EC had failed to place necessary orders before the relevant judicial authorities and that the "freezing date" for the electoral rolls should be extended.
"If I am not allowed to argue, then what is the use? Will these appeals be decided within a timeframe or just kept extending?" the counsel asked.
Justice Bagchi, during the hearing, referred to the sanctity of the electoral process and said the right to vote is not merely a constitutional formality but a "sentimental" pillar of democracy.
"The right to vote in a country you were born in is not just constitutional, but sentimental. It is about being part of a democracy and helping elect a government," he said.
He, however, said that the tribunals, manned by former judges, cannot be overburdened by fixing the timelines for adjudications.
"It is not the end justifying the means, but the means justifying the end," Justice Bagchi said.
"We need to protect due process rights. The voter should not be sandwiched between two constitutional authorities," he said, adding that it would not interdict the election process at this stage.
Justice Bagchi noted that the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice had already formulated the manner and mode for appeals, which began on Monday.
"Unless and until an enormous number of voters are excluded or it materially affects the election... the election cannot be cancelled," the bench said, adding that judicial intervention is intended to "promote elections, not interdict them."
The CJI emphasised that the petitioners must exhaust their remedies before the appellate tribunals.
Assembly elections in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29, and votes will be counted on May 4.
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