Elderly Couple Appeals to Supreme Court Over Aggressive Stray Dog in Delhi

A desperate 70-year-old couple has knocked on the Supreme Court’s doors, pleading for the permanent removal of a ferocious stray dog that has bitten six people—including an 8-year-old boy and a septuagenarian—in just three months in Delhi’s Maharana Pratap Bagh. The petitioners, led by Sunita Agarwal, accuse the local municipality of gross negligence after the civic body caught the dog on October 22, only to release it eight days later—triggering two more brutal attacks on October 31 and November 3.

The terror began with little Vaidik, an 8-year-old playing outside his home, who suffered a deep leg bite that left him bleeding profusely and too traumatized to step out for over a month, according to his heartbroken mother Riddhi. Days later, scooter-rider Sonam Chaudhary became another victim when the same dog lunged at her, sinking its teeth into two spots on her leg as she rode through the neighborhood, turning a routine commute into a nightmare.

Despite frantic calls to the municipal helpline and repeated complaints via the 311 app, residents say authorities turned a deaf ear. Saurabh Gandhi, president of the Maharana Pratap Bagh Resident Welfare Association, revealed that the community had lodged multiple formal grievances, all ignored. The plea highlights how the unchecked menace has robbed senior citizens of their morning walks and children of their playtime, turning a peaceful colony into a zone of fear.

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The elderly couple’s petition paints a chilling picture: the dog was captured once, yet released without sterilization or relocation, defying animal welfare protocols and endangering lives. They demand urgent Supreme Court intervention to order the municipality to seize and permanently remove the animal before it claims another victim—especially vulnerable children and seniors who now live in constant dread.

With bite scars still fresh and trauma lingering, the residents warn that without judicial muscle, the municipality’s apathy could lead to tragedy. The case underscores a growing urban crisis—stray dog aggression versus bureaucratic inaction—forcing India’s top court to decide if one animal’s “right to roam” outweighs an entire community’s right to safety.

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