Aditi Anand, Film Maker and Principal Member of Rabies Mukt Bharat Abhiyan
Supreme Court Upholds ABC Rules 2023, Directs States to Build Nationwide Sterilisation Infrastructure. Court recognises that failure of governments to implement the ABC framework created the present crisis; orders at least one ABC centre in every district and court-monitored compliance across India
“The judgment is a clear recognition that indiscriminate or ad hoc responses cannot substitute for a scientific, rule-based, humane national programme. By upholding the ABC Rules 2023 and the AWBI SOP, the Court has reaffirmed that sterilisation, vaccination and structured management — not abandonment of the legal framework — remain the foundation of India’s approach to community dogs”, says Aditi Anand, Film Maker and Principal Member of Rabies Mukt Bharat Abhiyan.
The Court’s observations place responsibility squarely where it belongs: on State governments and municipal authorities that did not implement the law with seriousness, capacity or continuity. The directions issued today convert that failure into a concrete, time-bound obligation under judicial supervision.
This judgment therefore marks a pivotal shift. The national conversation can no longer be diverted into false binaries between human safety and animal welfare. The Supreme Court has acknowledged that both are served by the same route: effective, properly funded, scientifically implemented ABC programmes across India.
At the same time, the judgment must be read with care and vigilance by the animal welfare community. While it strongly affirms the ABC Rules, 2023 and the AWBI SOP, it also leaves room for States to act in relation to specified public spaces, aggressive dogs and situations they may classify as requiring intervention. It will therefore be critical to ensure that these directions are not misread as a licence for indiscriminate removals, arbitrary shelterisation or actions outside the ABC framework. Every step taken by authorities must remain lawful, evidence-based, humane and fully consistent with the Rules and SOP that the Supreme Court has upheld.
Animal welfare organisations have welcomed the Court’s strong reaffirmation of the legal framework and its insistence on accountability from governments. The immediate priority now is to ensure that every State develops credible, transparent and humane implementation plans in line with the Court’s directions, and that the ABC Rules 2023 are finally executed at the scale the country requires.
