A post is being widely shared claiming that according to a Supreme Court’s order, if a stray dog bites a human, the person who feeds that dog should bear the treatment and compensation costs. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: According to Supreme Court’s order, if a stray dog bites a human, the person who feeds that dog should bear the treatment and compensation costs.
Fact: Supreme Court has not passed any such judgement. The case regarding the compensation for stray dog bites is still being heard. As of 20 September 2022, Kerala is the only state in the country which gives compensation for the victims of stray dog bites. However, the compensation is provided by local governments. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING
We searched the internet with relevant keywords and couldn’t find any such order by the Supreme Court. Also, a Supreme Court order on 09 September 2022 in Animal welfare board of India vs. People for elimination of stray troubles case requested the Siri Jagan Committee to file the status report regarding the stray dog bite compensation issue at least 7 days before the next hearing date on 29 September 2022.
Also, according to the reports by Indian Express and India Today, Kerala is the only state in India to have a committee (Siri Jagan committee) to decide compensation for cases of stray dog bites. The compensation will be paid by the local government depending on the nature of the wounds and gravity of the accident caused by stray dog.
To sum it up, there is no supreme court judgement that says the person who feeds the stray dog is liable in case of dog bites.
