Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court, while awarding anticipatory bail to three members of a family who were booked following a dispute over street dogs, also directed the family not to feed the stray dogs in their neighborhood, as it may encourage them to roam freely throughout the neighborhood.
Mandeep Singh, Balbir Kaur, and Lovepreet Kaur were booked under relevant IPC sections for wrongful restraint and criminal intimidation at the Satnampura police station in Phagwara, Kapurthala district, after Balvir Kaur complained that Mandeep Singh kept 8-9 stray dogs which tore up the street and that he and other residents of the village had filed complaints against the family, but they failed to succeed.
According to Kaur, the dogs also destroyed her garlic plants, and on November 24, 2019, Balbir Kaur and Loveleen Kaur assaulted her outside her house, hurting her religious sentiments.
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The petitioners’ counsel argued that the matter arose out of a stray dog issue in the area, in which the petitioners had a soft spot for the animals, but the complainant was vehemently opposed to them. Further, it was asserted that, in any case, even as per the allegations, it is a case of causing simple injury and that the allegations pertaining to pulling hair or hurting religious sentiments were ‘cooked up’. Counsel for the petitioners also stated they wanted the dogs to be kept in a safe place, away from the residential area, and had no objection to that, and that their only concern is not that the stray dogs die of starvation or are not ill-treated in any way.
The state counsel replied that petitioners have since joined the investigation and are not required to undergo any custodial interrogation. According to Justice Gurvinder Singh Gill, the petitioners must keep in contact with the authorities for purposes of relocating stray dogs to a nominated place so that they do not pose a threat to the safety or property of the residents in the area. Further, it is directed that their feeding the stray dogs in their residential locality will not encourage them to roam freely. In the meantime, a safe place far from the residential area may be used to feed the dogs until an adequate plan can be made by the municipal authorities for this purpose.
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