The Hindu : Kerala News : SPCA’s writ petition admitted High Court round-up

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Wednesday, Apr 23, 2008
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Kerala

SPCA’s writ petition admitted High Court round-up

Kochi: A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday admitted a writ petition seeking a directive to the State government and other respondents to take steps to implement the provisions of the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001.

The petition filed by A.G. Babu, secretary, Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Idukki, was admitted by a vacation Bench comprising Justice C.N. Ramachandran Nair and Justice Antony Dominic.

The petition sought to ensure that the procedure regarding the capture, sterilisation, immunisation and release of street dogs as prescribed under Rule 7 of the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001, is strictly followed throughout the State.

The petitioner pleaded that a directive be issued to the local bodies to stop killing of stray dogs in any manner except the manner prescribed by the Rule 9.

He said that the menace posed by street dogs was on the rise.

Instead of complying with the statutory prescriptions and controlling the birth of stray dogs, steps were taken to capture the dogs and kill them by injecting poison or by other methods.

The local bodies did not have any system for keeping the captured animals, isolating the rabid ones and allowing them to die a natural death or euthanising the mortally wounded or incurably ill dogs.

The failure to implement the laws for preventing cruelty to animals and safeguarding the human beings amounted to an act of cruelty to animals.

Adjourned

The Bench adjourned after vacation the hearing on an appeal filed by the State government against a single judge’s order directing it to restore possession of Dhanyasree Resorts, Munnar, and its property to its owners.

The court said that it would take up the appeal for hearing after the review petition already field against the single judge’s order was disposed of.

The appeal said that while issuing the directive, the single judge had observed that the government pleader had submitted that he had no objection to the property being given back to the owners.

In fact, what the government pleader submitted was that he had no objection to the application filed by the owners seeking to appoint an advocate commission to oversee the administration of the hotel.

The appeal said that the single judge’s order would send a wrong message that government land could be encroached. The Additional Advocate-General had submitted before the single judge that the restoration should be ordered only after hearing the issue in detail.

The appeal said that owners did not have any legal title or right over the property. They lay claim to the property on the basis of a bogus title.

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