CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has expressed strong displeasure over the failure of the state government to take effective action for addressing the issue of 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 in the High Court premises,” the bench said.
Pointing out that children are vulnerable to dog attacks, the court said, “Children have to be protected from the 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 sensitize the concerned officials 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.
It directed the Registry of the court to verify whether the records relating to the petitions filed in the Supreme Court, regarding the stray dogs menace, were received by it as remanded to the High Court and such cases shall be tagged along with the suo motu case.
The suo motu case was initiated by the High Court as per the directions of the Supreme Court to ensure compliance of its orders on containing stray dog menace.
It had granted four-week time for the respondent authorities to file a status report covering all aspects on implementation of the apex court’s order to address the dog menace particularly in institutional premises including educational institutions.
The Supreme Court, in its orders dated August 22, 2025, November 7, 2025, and May 29, 2026, directed the States and Union Territories delineated the measures to be taken, including the infrastructure for animal birth control, for addressing the stray dog menace.
