Supreme Court Reserves Order in Stray Dog Case After Hearing All States

• The Supreme Court has reserved its decision in the long-running stray dog management case after hearing submissions from all states and stakeholders.
• A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N V Anjaria concluded arguments, directing all parties to file written submissions within a week.
• The court expressed serious concern over states' lack of concrete action on animal birth control, dog shelters, and removal of strays from sensitive locations, calling their explanations "castles in the air."
• Judges criticized compliance reports as "storytelling" and highlighted alarming data, including 1.66 lakh dog-bite cases in Assam in 2024 with only one dog centre.
• Amicus curiae Gaurav Agrawal suggested Andhra Pradesh optimize its 39 ABC centres and set timelines for more, while urging Assam to expand its insufficient sterilization infrastructure.

Why It Matters: Supreme Court reserves order on stray dog management, expressing concern over states' inaction and alarming bite statistics.