The Rajasthan High Court on Monday asked municipal corporations throughout the state to launch a special campaign to remove “stray dogs and other animals” from roadways under their authority while causing “minimal physical harm” to them.
On July 31, a bench of Justices Kuldeep Mathur and Ravi Chirania issued the order after taking suo motu cognizance of the matter in response to news reports of stray dog attacks.
The court stated that if anyone obstructs municipal staff during this procedure, the officials “will be free to take appropriate action against them under the relevant Municipal laws, including lodging FIRs for obstructing public servants from performing their duties”.
We expect the general public to feed, offer food, and care for animals because of their feelings, religious beliefs, or love for them, and to do so at dog shelters and cattle ponds/gaushalas maintained by municipalities or private individuals/organisations,” the bench stated.
The court has also instructed the Additional Advocate General to submit a thorough report on the status and upkeep of dog shelters and cow ponds/gaushalas managed by municipal corporations. The report will also show how many people each corporation has available for this purpose, in addition to the doctors and support staff they have assigned to dog shelters and cow ponds/gaushalas to care for the animals.
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Additionally, municipal corporations have been instructed to make available a phone number and an email address where people can file complaints about stray animals.
The court ordered that national and state highways being patrolled on a regular basis to remove stray animals.
After AIIMS Jodhpur’s statement to amicus curiae Priyanka Borana about the stray dog menace on campus, the court asked the Jodhpur Municipal Corporation to take urgent action and the Jodhpur District Court to ensure the eradication of stray animals “on a priority basis”.
The orders were issued after the court, on July 31, took suo motu notice of press stories about stray dog bites. Citing a report citing Press Information Bureau data, the court stated that there are “alarming figures regarding dog bite cases in India,” with 88,029 (2022), 1,03,533 (2023), 1,40,543 (2024), and 15,062 (January 2025) cases reported from Rajasthan.
This Court also finds that stray dogs and cows pose a threat not only to city roadways but also to State and National Highways, declaring these highways to be extremely dangerous for inhabitants. “Incidents involving stray dogs, cows, and other animals have increased dramatically,” it stated.
The court appointed amicus curiae and issued notices on the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the National Highways Authority of India, the Department of Urban Development and Housing in Rajasthan, and the Director of Local Bodies, Government of Rajasthan, among others.
