Karnataka govt mulling Rs 5 lakh compensation in dog bite death cases, HC told
Bengaluru, Nov 15: The Karnataka government on Wednesday submitted before the High Court that a discussion of stakeholders called by the Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development Department discussed payment of compensation of Rs five lakh to families of people who die due to dog bites.
It also discussed Rs 5,000 as compensation for those who suffer injuries.
The HC directed that another meeting be held within four weeks to come up with a comprehensive plan.
Hearing a public interest litigation regarding seeking implementation of the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001, the HC directed the government to give wide publicity to the guidelines issued with regard to feeding of street animals and conflict resolution.
"There cannot be a dispute on the aspect that unless steps are taken to make the public at large...made aware of guidelines, there shall be no effective implementation of guidelines and, to achieve this purpose, the State can certainly give wide publicity to these guidelines in the official websites of the state government,” the division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit said.
The HC also suggested that the State can circulate pamphlets, make announcements on TV and in cinema halls if necessary. It said that these were mere suggestions and the government can explore all possible ways to get across the message to the public.
The PIL was filed by Tumakuru-based advocate Ramesh Naik L.
During the earlier hearing on October 5, the HC had directed the State to submit the measures taken to address issues of stray dogs and how the Animal Welfare Board of India’s (AWBI) guidelines to be followed by people who feed stray dogs was being implemented.
While the guidelines permit feeding of street animals in specific places, the HC had noted that people fed animals even at the gates of 'Vidhana Soudha' and Cubbon Park and places where such acts put school children in danger.
On Wednesday, the government advocate informed the court that after the court’s direction on October 5, a meeting was held with stakeholders on October 6 regarding the implementation of the guidelines.
The HC granted the State four more weeks to conduct another meeting with the stakeholders and adjourned the case by six weeks.
The AWBI Guidelines on Pet and Street/Stray Dogs were issued in 2015.
During the earlier hearing in October, the HC had said that these guidelines “certainly take into consideration a bonafide object of a citizen to feed street dogs and at the same time, a duty is cast upon such a citizen that the activity shall not cause any disturbance, hindrance or health hazard to his fellow citizen.” Referring to the instances of children being bitten by dogs, the HC had directed the State to respond with "appropriate remedial measures".
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
