'Not dog feeding, but harassing feeders is a crime'

GURGAON: A typical demand among many individuals and RWAs in Gurgaon who want strays removed from their housing society on one pretext or another is that "dogs should not be fed", often trying to socially isolate residents who ignore their illegal diktat.

But feeding street dogs is not a crime -- it's a right guaranteed by the Constitution. On the other hand, harassing or intimidating someone for feeding society's dogs is tantamount to criminal intimidation, as per law.

"We take action against such harassers on a case-to-case basis," Gurgaon police commissioner Vikas Arora recently told TOI.

Even the Supreme Court is very clear on the issue of dog feeding. In May 2022, the apex court upheld an earlier Delhi high court order that clearly said that stray dogs have the right to food and citizens the right to feed them.

The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), the central government's nodal body for animal welfare, too has clear guidelines for RWAs -- the residents' bodies can't deny feeding of strays inside a housing society or creation of multiple feeding spots where the canines live.

"Since driving away strays from a housing society is illegal, it's the moral duty of RWAs to get them immunised every year. The RWAs should designate dog feeding places only with the concurrence of the dog feeders" said Chetna Joshi, AWBI representative, MCG Monitoring and Implementation Committee for Animal Birth Control.

Lawyers say that RWAs can be taken to court if they issue any illegal diktat or try to intimidate residents who feed dogs on their premises or at designated feeding places. "A resident has the right to challenge any illegal diktat issued by an RWA in a court of law," Mayank Raghav, a Punjab & Haryana high court advocate, said.