Stray dogs order: SC criticises Maneka Gandhi’s remarks; and makes a ‘Kasab’ reference

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed displeasure over former Union minister Maneka Gandhi‘s criticism of the apex court’s order in the stray dog case. Though the court said that the remarks qualified as “contempt”, it had decided not to go ahead with the charges “due to its magnanimity.““You said the court should be circumspect in its remark but have you asked your client what kind of remarks she has made? Have you heard her podcast? She has made all kinds of remarks against everybody without even thinking. Have you seen her body language?” the bench said.The bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria went on remark that “Ajmal Kasab did not commit contempt”. This came when senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, appearing for Maneka, said that he had also appeared for Kasab.“Ajmal Kasab did not commit contempt of court but your client has,” Justice Nath remarked.The top court further questioned the BJP leader what “budgetary allocation” she had helped in getting for solving stray dogs problem.The Supreme Court, earlier this month, reviewed the stray dog issue in Delhi-NCR after a rise in dog bite cases. The judges said public safety must come first, especially in places like schools, hospitals, and railway stations.

They also said people who feed stray dogs should act responsibly. The court questioned who would be held responsible if a dog attacks someone and said that those who want to care for dogs should keep them as licensed pets rather than letting them roam freely.Last year, the SC had directed that stray dogs be removed from the premises of educational institutions, hospitals, and bus and railway stations, and ruled that they should not be returned to the same areas after sterilisation.Maneka had criticised this order saying: “This is as bad as or even worse than Justice Pardiwala’s judgement. This cannot be put into practice…If 5000 dogs are removed, where will you keep them? You need 50 shelters…But you do not have that. You need people to pick them up. What difference will removing 5000 dogs make? If there are 8 lakh dogs here, what will removing 5000 dogs change?…The question is that if this were possible, it would have been done...”