Four FIRs have been allegedly filed in connection with protests at several places against the recent order of the Supreme Court on stray dogs in the Delhi-NCR region. The Delhi Police has filed cases stating that dog lovers staged protests without permission.
Protests were staged against the Supreme Court order on August 11 and 12, which directed the transfer of stray dogs from areas in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad to give shelter to homes within eight weeks, claiming that no animal comes back on the streets.
However, according to Delhi Police officials, the protesters did not follow the prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Indian Citizen Security Code (BNSS), which were due to security arrangements before Independence DayAccording to news agency ANI,
Officials said some clashes were reported on some sites as animal activists and dog lovers tried to fight with the police, who were trying to disperse them. Delhi Police said, “Those who refused to leave the protest sites despite repeated requests were detained. Legal action will be taken against all those who violated the law.”
On August 11, hundreds of people gathered at India Gate to protest against the Supreme Court order, and a day later the same number was collected in the Connaught Place area. While the police alleged that the protesters did not cooperate, some protesters alleged the police cruelty and said that a police officer could be seen slapping a guard in a video, whose authenticity HT could not verify freely.
A senior police officer had earlier said that the protesters were asked to go to Jantar Mantar for stir, alleging that they did not allow them to collect where they were done. “We repeatedly warned them and even asked him to transfer to Janta Mantar, but he did not listen to us. He did not even take permission for protest. Since it was an illegal meeting, the police had to try to remove them. When we were trying to put them in buses, men and women started fighting with our employees.
Following the protests, the Supreme Court was heard by the apex court on Thursday demanding a stay on the rehabilitation order of stray dogs.
During the hearing, India’s Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, supporting the order and representing the Delhi government, argued, “In a democracy, there is a vocal majority and who is silently suffering.” The Solicitor General presented.
In contrast, advocates representing the petitioners argued that there were not enough shelter houses, making the implementation of the order difficult.
A bench of three-judges in which Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria heard the argument and reserved an order.
(With ANI input)
