Act against those feeding dogs in HC campus: Judges

Nagpur: The nuisance of stray dogs is not limited to the residential areas. Quite a few are seen roaming inside the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court campus.
While hearing a PIL on dog menace on Wednesday, petitioner’s counsel Firdos Mirza submitted a photograph of a stray dog which was eating biscuits near the HC canteen.
Taking the cognizance, a division bench of justices Sunil Shukre and MW Chandwani orally asked the officials from the registry to pay attention and act against those feeding them inside the court premises.
Quoting officials from the HC registry, Mirza informed that complaints were made to the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC). The civic body however failed to act despite repeated complaints, he said.
Citing the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) guidelines, the intervenors’ counsel Ravi Sanyal along with intervenor Ankita Shah informed the judges that the NMC needed to relocate the stray dogs at the same place from where they were picked up after performing sterilization peration. They contended that the dogs are territorial animals and they cannot be relocated anywhere, else it would lead to fights with strays in other areas.
The judges then questioned if the dogs need to be allowed to reside inside the HC area till their natural death. They explained that areas as per AWBI guidelines should be bigger areas and not meant for particular premises like HC. They orally clarified that dogs cannot be allowed to roam freely inside the court area.