"10 Lakh Dog Bites In 5 Years", Counsel Seeks Urgent Hearing Of Kerala Stray Dog Menace Issue; Supreme Court Agrees To List On Sep 9

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to list on September 9 the cases related to stray dog menace in Kerala, after an urgent mentioning was made before the Chief Justice of India by Advocate VK Biju.

The lawyer highlighted the recent spike in stray dog bites in the state, and mentioned that a 12-year old girl is battling for life after being attacked by a rabid dog, despite taking anti-rabies vaccine.

"Kerala has become dogs own country from gods own country", he said.

Biju pointed out that in 2016, the Supreme Court had constituted a commission led by former Kerala High Court judge Justice S Sirijagan to deal with complaints relating to dog bites and to determine the compensation for victims.

"Please call for the present status from Sir Jagan commission", the counsel requested after mentioning the startling figure of 10 lakh dog bites in 5 years.

"Daily wagers, school going children, women, they are getting attacked. It's a very serious issue affecting the poor people especially", the counsel urged.

CJI Lalit agreed to list the batch of cases on September 9.

In 2016, Justice Siri Jagan commission had submitted a report before the Supreme Court which stated that the "excessive" stray canine population will continue to pose "very serious threat" to public safety unless brought down to "manageable level".