Hyderabad: With nearly 500 stray dogs reportedly culled across the state and 40 more allegedly killed near Symbiosis International University on the outskirts of Hyderabad, the Telangana High Court, on Tuesday, January 20, transferred a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking registration of a criminal case to the Supreme Court.
The apex court has been hearing the stray dog menace case since last year, following a series of dog bite incidents reported in the national capital of Delhi.
The PIL, filed by advocate and former Symbiosis student V Rishihas Reddy, stated that 40 dogs inside the campus were reportedly trapped and killed on the orders of Nandigama Mandal tahsildar, the local sarpanch and university officials. He argued that the case was about the illegal killing of dogs rather than dog bite incidents, the Times of India reported.
A division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin observed that Reddy had produced much of his evidence through social media. At this, Reddy’s counsel said that his client was informed about the deaths through university students and later confirmed by gram panchayat officials.
“There is a clear air of suspicion and something grossly horrible has happened here. The university and the officials have to come clean about that,” Reddy’s counsel argued. He sought an independent probe by a commission headed by a retired High Court judge.
The PIL also sought interim protection to prevent further cullings and ensure rules are followed as per the Supreme Court directions on stray dog management and the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023.
The bench ordered the PIL to be transferred to the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court stray dogs case
In August 2025, the Supreme Court’s suo moto order aimed at protecting the people of Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) from the menace of stray dog bites, directed the Delhi Government, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the authorities of the National Capital Region (NCR) to pick up stray dogs and relocate them to shelters and pounds within eight weeks.
This created a nationwide furore, with several animal welfare groups, common citizens and celebrities taking to the roads, protesting the order. This forced the apex court to revisit its order through a larger bench.
It modified its directions on stray dogs, clarifying that captured dogs must be sterilised, dewormed, vaccinated, and then released back to the same localities from where they were picked up — except those suffering from rabies, suspected to be rabid, or showing aggressive behaviour.
On January 13 this year, the Supreme Court said it will ask states to pay a “heavy compensation” for dog-bite incidents and hold dog feeders accountable, as it flagged its concern over the lack of implementation of norms on stray animals for the past five years.
