Overview
- After hearing all states and stakeholders, the bench reserved its decision and asked for written submissions within one week.
- The judges castigated several governments for vague affidavits and inadequate ABC infrastructure, remarking that many were “building castles in the air.”
- Assam’s figures — about 166,000 dog bites in 2024 and 20,900 in January 2025 — shocked the court, which also questioned Jharkhand’s claimed sterilisation numbers as “absolutely fudged up.”
- AWBI told the court it recognises only 76 sterilisation centres versus 883 cited by states, and was directed to expedite decisions on pending NGO applications for shelters and ABC facilities.
- The bench signalled stricter action and possible compensation orders while pressing for fencing of institutions, removal of strays from highways with NHAI tech tools, and transparent tracking models like Maharashtra’s dashboard.