The Supreme Court on Friday tweaked its August 11 order of relocation of stray dogs, saying the canines will be released after sterilisation and won’t be kept in shelters, given they are not rabid or “aggressive”. Several Bollywood stars, including Raveena Tandon, Vir Das, and Rupali Ganguly, have now welcomed the new modification, and reacted to the news on their social media accounts.

Raveena thanks the Supreme Court

Raveena took to her Instagram Stories and wrote, “Dogesh bhai! Tum aage bahdo! Hum Tumhare saath hain (We are with you)! Better sense has prevailed. Thank you #cji #supremecourt. Now make sure the programmes and monies allocated for vaccinations and sterilisations are implemented rightly.”

Vir Das wrote on his X account, “Thank you to the Supreme Court of India for supporting the process of sterilisation, vaccination and a safe return of our community dogs to their neighbourhood. Hopefully the municipality can be speedy about creating dedicated feeding areas and also rely on multiple dog trainers and behaviourists in delhi and nationwide for behavioural modification and community integration, it is nice to know our voiceless dogs can rely on your empathy and balance.”

‘A big win for compassion’

Rupali Ganguly, best known for her role in Anupamaa, wrote on her X account, “A big win for compassion! Grateful to the Hon’ble Supreme Court for modifying its order, allowing sterilisation & release of stray dogs in Delhi. This step not only safeguards people from rabies & overpopulation risks but also lets our voiceless companions live with dignity. True progress is when compassion & safety walk hand in hand.”

On August 11, a bench of Justices Pardiwala and R Mahadevan took a stern view of the stray dog problem and ordered the Delhi-NCR to start removing stray dogs from all localities and house them in dedicated dog shelters to be set up by civic authorities. In the last few days, multiple protests have been held in the city, demanding that the SC’s order be withdrawn.

The Supreme Court has now clarified that the dogs must be released back after sterilisation and immunisation, except those infected with rabies or exhibiting aggressive behaviour. “The direction given in the order dated 11th August, 2025, prohibiting the release of the treated and vaccinated dogs seems to be too harsh, in our opinion,” a bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria said.