On Friday (January 9, 2026), the Supreme Court has reprimanded actress Sharmila Tagore on the issue of stray dogs. He opposed recent steps taken to deal with the stray animal problem and argued against adopting a one-size-fits-all approach to stray dogs. He gave arguments like forming an expert committee to find out aggressive and normal dogs and also gave the example of a friendly dog living in AIIMS Hospital for many years.
The court said on his argument that it is completely beyond reality and said that do not try to glorify these dogs in hospitals. Sharmila Tagore’s lawyer Pragyan Pradeep Sharma advised in the Supreme Court that there should be an expert committee to find out the behavior of dogs so that how aggressive and normal dogs behave.
The lawyer said that there is a dog named Goldie in AIIMS Hospital, which has been there for years. On this matter, the Supreme Court reprimanded and said, ‘Has that dog also been taken to the operation theater of the hospital? Dogs living on the streets often have worms and the presence of such infected dogs in the hospital can lead to a frightening situation. Do you understand this? We will make you aware of the reality of this debate.
The court told the lawyer, ‘You are completely out of touch with the truth and there is no need to glorify such dogs in the hospital.’ The lawyer also suggested in the court that collars should be color coded to identify biting dogs, as is done in countries like Georgia and Armenia. On this the court asked him, ‘What is the population of these countries? Lawyer, please talk a little realistically.
The bench had said in the hearing on January 8 that the court has not ordered to remove all the dogs from the streets. Only instructions have been given that stray dogs should be treated as per the rules of Animal Birth Control (ABC). Sharmila Tagore has said in her petition that science and psychology are needed to deal with the problem of dogs. He said that the ABC rule is not foolproof. The solution to this needs to be derived from science and psychology and a module specific framework is needed under which dogs are caught and released.
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