Suo motu PIL on stray dogs killing children: HC directs Animal Birth Control Committee to come up with measures

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court’s division bench, comprising CJ Alok Aradhe and Justice Jukanti Anil Kumar, on Thursday directed the Animal Birth Control Committee, constituted by the State government to effectively implement the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023.

The committee is directed to consult various animal welfare organisations in State and suggest and put forth measures, which can be implemented; this will thwart incidents of children getting killed and elders being attacked by stray dogs.

CJ Aradhe, showed the newspaper clipping in the court hall which reported an attack by a pack of stray dogs on an infant in Hyderabad, who is in a grievous condition, and observed that this should stop.

The CJ, during the hearing of the Suo Motu PIL, observed that mere sterilising stray dogs will not stop them from attacking infants and elderly people. The GHMC, government, animal welfare organisations, animal birth control committees should come up with concrete solutions. ‘We have to find a way to stop the incidents of stray dogs attacking infants, who are killed’. Imran Khan, Additional A-G, informed the court that the government, despite constituting the committee, is working in tandem with the GHMC and making efforts to end the stray dog menace, which have become frequent. Khan said there are 3,79,156 stray dogs across the State; except sterilising them, there is nothing else the State can do; sterilisation can only lower ferocity of stray dogs, nothing more than that.

The bench was adjudicating the PIL which the HC converts the report dated February 22, 2023, in an English daily into a Suo Motu PIL, more particularly referring to the “death of a four-year-old boy, Pradeep, in a horrific incident, which occurred on February 19 when a pack of dogs attacked and killed him in Amberpet. Hearing in the case was adjourned to July 31.

Writs to disqualify BRS MLAs who defected to Cong

On Thursday, Advocate-General A. Sudarshan Reddy argued before the HC single bench of Justice Bollam Vijaysen Reddy in the three writs filed seeking a direction to the Assembly Speaker to take action against all those BRS MLAs who defected to the Congress party, without resigning from their party preliminary membership.

Reddy informed the court that he requires more time to put forth his arguments in the batch of writs and cited the five-judge bench order passed by the Supreme Court, which clearly said the Speaker of the Assembly cannot be issued a direction to act upon the disqualification petitions pending before him. He prayed to dismiss the writs filed on ground that the petitioners have approached the court seeking a direction to the Speaker to act upon the disqualification petitions, just 10 days after they had filed the disqualification petitions. On this ground alone, the writs can be dismissed, he averred.

When the judge asked the A-G to argue tomorrow as counsels for petitioners J. Ramchander Rao, former Additional A-G (BRS government), Gandra Mohan Rao, were insisting upon the court to direct the AG to conclude his arguments as the petitioners are apprehending that more BRS MLAs may defect to the Congress party.

The A-G, after hearing the judge, said the issue is not before the court; it is better not to discuss the issue and sought more time to argue.