Aug 14, 2025: A brand-new three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court will hear the suo motu case on Thursday amid widespread protests throughout India regarding the top court's order to relocate stray dogs in Delhi-NCR. On August 11, a bench composed of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan ordered all dogs to be permanently relocated to shelters "at the earliest." “We are conscious and sensitive of co-existence. The idea behind co-existence is not the existence of one’s life at the cost of the other,” it said in the order released on Wednesday.

"A virtual divide is being attempted between people who "love animals" and people who don't care about animals. However, there is still no solution to the core of the issue for every practical reason. Our hearts hurt for everyone, as a court. We condemn those who, beneath the cloak of 'love and care' for the voiceless, pursue the warmth of self-congratulation. The directions given by us, as a court which functions for the welfare of the people, are both in the interest of humans as well as dogs. This is not personal, according to the order. All Creatures Big & Small, a non-governmental organization, has requested that the top court reverse its August 11 order, claiming that it is impractical. On August 14, it will be heard by a three-judge bench composed of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjaria. In the morning, some petitioners in another stray dogs-related case mentioned their plea and referred to the August 11 verdict before CJI BR Gavai, who said, "I will look into it."

The attorney mentioned an order that was issued in May 2024 by a bench headed by Justice JK Maheshwari, relegating petitions regarding the issue of stray dogs to the respective high courts. Petitioner Conference for Human Rights (India) claimed the Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rules, 2001, mandating regular sterilisation and immunisation programmes for stray dogs to curtail their growing population were not being complied with.

The top court on Monday ordered the Delhi Government, MCD, NDMC, NOIDA, and Gurugram authorities to immediately pick up stray dogs from all localities and place them in dog shelters, describing the stray dog problem as "extremely grim." "This is the time to act. Will all of these so-called animal lovers and activists bring back all of the children who have been infected with rabies? Will they bring those children back to life? Let's take a practical view of the matter. When the situation demands, you have to act,” it had said, refusing to entertain intervention applications of animal rights activists.