Stray dogs case: SC expresses displeasure over Maneka Gandhi's criticism of its order - ‘She committed contempt'

The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed displeasure over former minister and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi's criticism of the apex court order in the stray dogs case, saying “she committed contempt”.

However, the apex court said that it was not initiating contempt against Maneka Gandhi due to its magnanimity, reported PTI.

The Supreme Court also questioned Maneka Gandhi on what budgetary allocation she has helped in getting for solving the problem of stray dogs.

In November 2025, taking note of the rise in dog bite incidents in several places, including educational institutions, hospitals, bus stands and railway stations, the apex court directed authorities to move such canines to designated shelters.

The apex court also ordered the authorities, including the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), to ensure the removal of stray animals and cattle from highways and expressways.

Reacting to the order, earlier in January, Maneka Gandhi said that Supreme Court judges had done a "disservice" to the nation.

"Supreme Court has created an atmosphere of hate across India... What the judges have done is wrong by simply dividing India into people that hate one or one love species. Through this they have done a disservice to India. The Animal Welfare Act is a very good act. They haven't removed the act. They have simply said that you can act against the act. This is not correct," Gandhi told reporters.

In November, Gandhi had described the apex court's directive on removing stray animals and lodging them at shelter homes as "impractical", and said compassion should guide India’s approach towards animals.

"The Supreme Court says remove the dog, remove the cat, remove the monkey, put it in a shelter, sterilise it, but no one can actually do this...it is impractical," Gandhi said while speaking at the launch of CineKind.

She also questioned the lack of coordination among civic bodies, adding that compassion, not control, should guide India’s approach to animals.

Last week, the apex court flagged its concern over the lack of implementation of norms on stray animals for the past five years, and stated that it will ask states to pay a ‘heavy compensation’ for dog-bite incidents and hold dog feeders accountable.

"For every dog bite, death or injury caused to children or elderly, we are going to ask the state governments to pay heavy compensation, as they did not do anything on implementation of norms in the past five years," Justice Vikram Nath said.

On 11 August, the top court ordered that all localities in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and Faridabad be made free of stray dogs, with no compromise. Additionally, it made clear that no captured animal would be released back into the streets.