In Supreme Court, Lawyer With A Bandage Sets Off A Stray Dogs Discussion

The problem of dog bites, highlighted once again by the recent death of a teen in Uttar Pradesh, came up in the Supreme Court today in an unexpected way as a lawyer walked in bandaged after a dog attack.

On noticing the lawyer wearing a bandage during a hearing, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud asked the reason.

"I was surrounded and bitten by five dogs," the lawyer replied.

"Where, near your house?" the Chief Justice asked. The lawyer replied in the affirmative. Justice Chandrachud immediately offered assistance and asked if the lawyer needed medical help. "We can arrange to take you to the hospital right away," he said.

The government lawyer, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, also stepped into the conversation, saying, "This is a serious threat. Recently, a video emerged of a child being attacked by dogs in Uttar Pradesh. We usually don't pay much attention to these. The child was taken to the hospital after he caught a rabies infection. The doctor said nothing could be done and the child died in his father's arms."

The Chief Justice also shared another incident. "Two years ago, my law clerks were parking their car and street dogs attacked them," said the top judge.

Senior lawyer Vijay Hansaria urged Justice Chandrachud to take action on the menace of street dog attacks. "We will look into it," the Chief Justice responded.

Last week, a 14-year-old died of rabies a month after being bitten by a dog in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. The police filed cases against neighbours accused of feeding stray dogs, including one carrying rabies.

The Supreme court in June issued notice on a request to euthanise extremely dangerous stray dogs after a nine-year-old girl was attacked by a pack of strays in her neighbourhood in Kerala.