CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Tuesday expressed strong displeasure over the failure of the state government in taking effective action to address the stray dog menace.
Hearing a suo motu case initiated by the court on the issue, the first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice Arul Murugan said no action could be seen on the field.
“We don’t see any steps taken for addressing the issue. Dogs are roaming even on the high court premises,” the bench said. Pointing out that children are vulnerable to dog attacks, it said, “Children have to be protected from dog menace and we can’t allow this situation to continue.”
Referring to the submission of Additional Advocate General (AAG) PV Balasubramaniam that the status report is almost ready and it will be filed in a week, the bench remarked that the report may be ready but no action is seen on the field.
It asked him to sensitise the officials concerned on the need to take effective measures for controlling stray dogs and granted a week’s time for the state to file the status report, as sought by the AAG, and adjourned the hearing to July 30.
The bench further directed the Registry to verify whether the records relating to the petitions filed in the Supreme Court, regarding stray dog menace, were received by it as remanded to the high court and said such cases shall be tagged along with the suo motu case.
The suo motu case was initiated by the HC as per SC directions to ensure compliance of its orders on containing the stray dog menace. It had granted four weeks’ time for the respondent authorities to file a status report covering all aspects on the implementation of the apex court’s order to address the issue.
The SC, in its orders dated August 22, 2025, November 7, 2025, and May 29, 2026, directed the states and union territories to address the issue, and delineated the measures to be taken, including infrastructure for animal birth control.