Supreme Court Orders Immediate Action to Secure Schools, Hospitals from Stray Dog Menace

Bench directs removal of strays from institutional areas within 8 weeks; expands directives to include cattle on highways as road accidents mount

New Delhi, November 7, 2025 — The Supreme Court has issued sweeping directions to safeguard educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, railway stations and bus terminals across India from stray dog attacks, expressing grave concern over the alarming frequency of incidents that have left children, patients, and even foreign visitors injured.

A three-judge bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N.V. Anjaria ordered all state governments and union territories to secure these institutional premises within eight weeks through adequate fencing, boundary walls, and administrative measures to prevent stray dogs from entering or inhabiting these spaces.

Zero Tolerance for Institutional Areas

In a significant departure from its earlier approach, the court explicitly prohibited the release of stray dogs back to locations from which they are captured within institutional premises. “We have consciously directed the non-release of such stray dogs to the same location from which they were picked up, as permitting the same would frustrate the very effect of the directions issued to liberate such institutional areas from the presence of stray dogs,” the order stated.

The directive marks a crucial shift in the court’s stance on managing the stray dog crisis in sensitive public spaces, acknowledging that the current Capture-Sterilize-Vaccinate-Release (CSVR) model, while humane, has proven insufficient for high-risk institutional areas.

Alarming Incidents Across India

The court’s order catalogued a disturbing pattern of attacks across multiple states, highlighting the severity and widespread nature of the crisis:

Educational Institutions:

• A Class III student was bitten inside a classroom at a government school in Wayanad, Kerala, where a stray dog had given birth near a wash basin in an abandoned section
• Six students were attacked at a government primary school in Siswal village, Hisar, Haryana
• College students within Bengaluru University campus required hospitalization after attacks
• The National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, reportedly has a “huge population of strays” threatening student safety

Hospitals:

• Multiple patients were bitten at the Institute of Mental Health, Kilpauk, Chennai, within days
• A resident doctor at Government Medical College, Nagpur, required ICU care after being attacked by several stray dogs on campus
• Five people were attacked at Ernakulam General Hospital, Kochi, including patients inside the premises
• Cancer patients at Acharya Harihar Post Graduate Institute of Cancer, Cuttack, claimed vital chemotherapy and radiation procedures were delayed due to dog attacks

Sports Venues:

• Two foreign coaches from Kenya and Japan were bitten inside Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi, during the World Para Athletics Championships 2025 — one near the competition arena and another at the warm-up track

Transport Hubs:

• A rabid dog bit 18 people at Kannur Railway Station, Kerala, with residents estimating over a hundred stray dogs in the station vicinity
• Nine commuters, including a Railway Protection Force officer, were bitten at Dombivli Railway Station, Maharashtra
• Over 30 people were bitten at Alappuzha Railway Station, Kerala, in six months
• A stray dog attacked about 50 people at Kannur Bus Stand, Kerala

Foreign Nationals Not Spared

The court took particular note of incidents involving foreign visitors, citing a report about a Welsh entrepreneur bitten by a stray dog during a morning run in Bengaluru. “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 observed.

India’s Rabies Crisis

The order highlighted India’s continuing struggle with rabies-related mortality despite advances in public health. Scientific assessments by the World Health Organization and National Centre for Disease Control estimate that over 90% of human rabies cases in India result from dog bites, with children, elderly people, and economically weaker sections bearing the brunt due to lack of timely access to post-exposure prophylaxis.

The court noted that the implementation of Animal Birth Control Rules, 2001 (amended in 2023), which established the CSVR model as the principal method for controlling stray dog populations, “has been ineffective, to say the least, across jurisdictions.”

Comprehensive Institutional Safeguards

The Supreme Court’s detailed directions include:

Immediate Actions:

• States and UTs must identify all government and private educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands/depots, and railway stations within two weeks
• Premises must be secured with adequate fencing, boundary walls, and gates within eight weeks
• Each institution must designate a Nodal Officer for cleanliness and preventing stray dog entry
• Municipal authorities must conduct inspections at least once every three months

Healthcare Preparedness:

• All government and private hospitals must maintain mandatory stocks of anti-rabies vaccines and immunoglobulin at all times

Education and Awareness:

• The Ministry of Education must direct schools to conduct awareness sessions on preventive behavior around animals, first-aid for bites, and reporting protocols

Standard Operating Procedures:

• The Animal Welfare Board of India must issue detailed SOPs for prevention of dog bites in institutional premises within four weeks, to be uniformly adopted across all states

Highway Safety: Cattle Removal Ordered

In a parallel initiative addressing another major public safety concern, the court reaffirmed and extended directions originally issued by the Rajasthan High Court for removal of cattle and stray animals from highways and expressways nationwide.

Expressing concern over the “alarmingly frequent” accidents caused by cattle on roads resulting in loss of life, grievous injuries, and property damage, the bench said such incidents reflect “administrative indifference” and undermine the constitutional guarantee of right to life under Article 21.

The court directed:

• Municipal authorities, transport departments, and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to ensure removal of all cattle and stray animals from state highways, national highways, and expressways
• Constitution of dedicated 24×7 highway patrol teams for continuous surveillance
• Prominently displayed helpline numbers at regular intervals on all highways for reporting stray animals
• Removed cattle to be kept in appropriate shelters or gaushalas with necessary food, water, and veterinary care

Chief Secretaries of all states and UTs, along with the NHAI Chairperson, must file compliance affidavits within eight weeks.

Accountability and Compliance

The court warned that any non-compliance would be “viewed very seriously” and could invite penalties including initiation of suo moto contempt proceedings against erring officials. Chief Secretaries must hold concerned officers “personally accountable for lapses or recurring incidents in their respective jurisdictions.”

All states and union territories, except Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, have already submitted compliance affidavits following earlier court orders. The court has taken on record a comprehensive report by amicus curiae Gaurav Agrawal highlighting “grave deficiencies and shortcomings” in several state responses.

Broader Constitutional Implications

The bench emphasized that the persistence of preventable dog bite incidents and highway accidents involving cattle “not only reflect administrative apathy but also a systemic failure” to secure premises and roadways from preventable hazards.

“The State and its instrumentalities bear an affirmative obligation to ensure that no citizen, least of all children, elderly people and patients, are exposed to preventable injury or disease within public premises,” Justice Mehta wrote in the order.

The court noted that underlying causes of the stray dog menace include uncontrolled reproduction due to inadequate sterilization programmes, improper waste disposal, absence of effective perimeter management, and lack of public awareness regarding preventive conduct and post-bite medical procedures.

Next Steps

The matter has been listed for January 13, 2026, for further directions and perusal of compliance affidavits to be filed by the Animal Welfare Board of India, all states and union territories, and the Union of India.

The Registry has been directed to circulate the order to Chief Secretaries of all states and UTs, as well as multiple central ministries including Health and Family Welfare, Education, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Youth Affairs and Sports, Road Transport and Highways, Railways, Panchayati Raj, and Rural Development.

The Union of India must ensure implementation in all institutional areas under its administrative control, including central government educational institutions, hospitals, and railway stations.

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The order was passed in Suo Moto Writ Petition (Civil) No. 5 of 2025 titled “In Re: City Hounded by Strays, Kids Pay Price” along with connected matters.