The Supreme Court was hearing a contempt petition against the Attingal municipality (Representational)
The chairman and four members of the Attingal Municipal Council in Kerala today apologised in the Supreme Court for killing stray dogs despite the top court's orders against it. A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra also told the chairman of a social organisation called Stray Dogs Eradication Group not to launch any campaign supporting killing of strays.
The top court on May 8 issued notices to the group and members of the Attingal municipality on a contempt petition over killing stray dogs despite the Supreme Court's order telling them not to do so.
The chairman of Attingal municipality Pradeep, and block panchayat members Sreekantan, Biju Kumar, Shahjahan and Manju Pradeep appeared before the bench and apologised. The bench also comprised Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice MM Shantanagoudar.
Advocate Siddharth Garg appearing for petitioner Nikita Anand, who filed the plea through lawyer Prashant Bhushan, sought contempt proceedings against the municipality members and the organisation for disobeying the top court's November 18, 2015 order, which told all local authorities and panchayats not to kill stray dogs.
The Supreme Court on July 10 had said it would examine the legal question as to whether the 2001 Dog Rules, framed by the centre, would prevail over state laws meant to control stray dog population.
The top court also expressed unhappiness over increasing cases of dog bites in Kerala, and asked the state government to take steps to ensure that such cases were checked.
The Dog Rules were framed in line with the World Health Organisation's animal birth control programme which provides that instead of killing dogs, they should be sterilised and immunised.