PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Wednesday warned it was contemplating issuing a bailable warrant against the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officer in charge in Goa after the authority failed to file a compliance affidavit despite repeated directions in the stray dog case.
The Division Bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar noted that two notices had already been issued to NHAI, with copies of the court’s orders annexed.
“The directions were also communicated to the authority by email. Yet, no affidavit had been filed. We are contemplating issuing a bailable warrant against the NHAI officer in charge in Goa,” the Bench observed while recording its dissatisfaction over non-compliance.
The court reminded the authorities that the directions originated from the Supreme Court's suo motu proceedings on the implementation of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme and required compliance affidavits to be filed before the High Court.
Referring to its earlier order dated August 5, the Bench noted that it had already recorded the request made by the Union of India and NHAI seeking time to file their affidavits in compliance with the SC’s directions. “However, despite that extension, no affidavit has been placed on record,” the court recorded.
The Bench then directed NHAI and the Union of India to file their affidavits by Monday, noting that Respondent No. 8 (Union of India) and Respondent No. 10 (NHAI) are parties to the writ petition and are bound to comply with the directions issued. The matter has now been posted for further hearing on August 19.
During the hearing, the High Court also deliberated on procedural compliance, with the Bench questioning the authorities on the scale of the stray dog problem.
“Do you have any idea how many stray dogs there are?” it asked the respondents in court.
Observing that an effective response could not be framed without reliable data, the Bench said a comprehensive scheme would have to be evolved to assess the stray dog population and tackle the issue systematically.
The authorities were thus directed to prepare and place a basic plan by Wednesday, August 19, indicating that it would work on a broader framework to address the issue in line with the apex court’s directions.
The suo motu proceedings before the High Court follow SC’s directions asking High Courts to monitor the implementation of measures adopted by States and Union Territories to deal with the growing stray dog menace as well as balancing public safety with animal welfare. The apex court also warned that failure to comply with its directions could invite contempt proceedings and disciplinary action against defaulting officials.
