Shillong, Sep 29: The Meghalaya High Court has recalled its recent order to file a formal application in the Supreme Court to allow it to continue hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) related to the issue of stray dogs.
The court in its August 30, 2025 order wanted to retain the matter due to the “peculiar and distinctive feature” of stray dogs in Meghalaya.
However, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Hamarsan Singh Thangkhiew and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh on September 26 recalled the order on the State government’s request.
Advocate General A. Kumar, representing the State, argued that in light of the Supreme Court’s order, the Meghalaya case could no longer be pursued separately. He stressed that uniformity was needed, as stray dog issues involve not just local governance but also fundamental rights and public safety.
Senior advocate Kaustav Paul, who appeared in person as the first respondent, raised no objections and Advocate S Dey, counsel for the Shillong Municipal Board, also supported the transfer.
The high court directed that all records pertaining to PIL No.4 of 2024 be transmitted to the Supreme Court “at the earliest.” With that, the miscellaneous application (MC (PIL) No.6 of 2025) filed by the State was allowed and disposed of.
The Supreme Court on August 22 had ordered transfer of pending cases related to stray dogs from all High Courts to itself.
The Meghalaya High Court has been hearing a PIL concerning stray dogs since 2024.
The issue concerning stray dogs hogged the limelight after a Supreme Court Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan on August 11 ordered the municipal authorities in Delhi to begin rounding up stray dogs from all areas, and to establish shelters within eight weeks.
However, following widespread protests by animal rights activists and dog lovers, the case was assigned to another Bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath.
The three-judge Bench led by Justice Nath on August 22 modified the August 11 order. The Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria ordered that the dogs shall be released from dog shelters after being dewormed and vaccinated. It also expanded the scope of the case beyond the confines of New Delhi and the NCR region and directed that all pending cases related to stray dogs be transferred from High Courts to the Supreme Court.
“We are also informed that numerous writ petitions/ suo moto petitions are pending in various High Courts, more or less dealing with common issues. Hence, the Registry shall seek information about such pending writ petitions from the Registrar Generals of all the High Courts, and thereafter, these writ petitions shall stand transferred to this Court for analogous consideration along with the main matter,” the top court ordered.
