Punjab and Haryana High Court stays consumer court order on confiscation of 11 banned breeds of pet dogs

The Punjab and Haryana High Court last week stayed a November 15 order of a consumer court that directed Municipal Corporation of Gurugram to confiscate pet dogs belonging to 11 banned breeds and to take into custody all stray dogs and put them in pounds [Shivani Dasmahapatra & Anr v State of Haryana & Ors]..The Court was dealing with two pleas seeking a stay on consumer court's order on the ground that it had exceeded its jurisdiction and passed orders beyond the scope and powers vested in it by the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. Single-judge Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj passed interim order and stayed all directions ordered by consumer court."The operation of the interim order dated 15.11.2022 passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Gurugram, is stayed till further orders," the High Court directed. .The Court was hearings plea filed by Shivani Dasmahapatra and Sameer Verma who argued that they were fully cognizant of the fact that public safety could not be underestimated and steps must be taken to curb dog-bites but the same can be done only by a High Court or the Supreme Court in appropriate cases and not by consumer commissions. The petitioners further said that they were not challenging the part of the order which deals with the consumer dispute or compensation awarded; instead their challenge was restricted to those aspects of the order where the consumer forum exceeded its jurisdiction and passed orders against the public..The counsel for petitioner argued that one of the petitioners wanted to buy one more dog but the consumer court order came in the way.Thus, she has a cause of action to pursue the present petition, it was submitted..On November 15, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission at Gurugram had ordered the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram to frame a policy for compensating citizens bitten or attacked by stray dogs."The compensation shall not be less than ₹20,000 and same may extend up to ₹2 lakh depending upon the gravity and seriousness of the injuries sustained by dog bite," the consumer forum had directed.The forum had noted that, the Indian government has banned the following breeds of dogs as pets: American Pit-bull Terriers, Dogo Argentino, Rottweiler, Neapolitan Mastiff, Boerboel, Presa Canario, Wolf Dog, Bandog, American Bulldog, Fila Brasileiro and Cane Corso. Calling for a ban on these breeds to be implemented, the order had stated."The civic body is directed to cancel all the licences, if any, issued in this regard in favour of dog owners for keeping these dogs as pets with immediate effect and take custody of all these dogs."It further had ordered the civic body to create public awareness of this ban order and had also directed corporation to pay ₹2 lakh to a woman who sustained deadly injuries in a dog attack..The High Court while staying the consumer forum's order, directed the Municipal Corporation to file an affidavit regarding the remaining directions in the consumer forum's order:Steps to ensure that residents of including various housing and residential colonies get their pets registered with immediate effect upon payment of necessary charges; Furnish details of the dogs of foreign breeds that are not allowed to be imported; Ensure the compliance with rules/bye-laws under Section 311 of the Harayna Municipal Act, 1994 and furnish details of the registration along with fee collected; Ensure that every registered owner shall keep the dog on leash when brought out at public places and it is guarded so that it does not bite any one; Issue public notice warranting all residences/housing societies to strictly follow the mandate of the bye laws/rules, non-compliance whereof should attract penalty as has been statutorily prescribed; Furnish all the details of the action taken by it regarding the spaying of the stray dogs and total expenses incurred maintained as per the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960, as well as the Animal Welfare Board; Submit the details of the vaccination drive undertaken and details of the drives undertaken over the last three years to mitigate the stray dog menace; Details of the dog bite cases reported in last five years.The Court will hear the matter next on February 15, 2023.Advocate Navdeep Singh appeared for Shivani Dasmahapatra.Senior Advocate Akshay Bhan with advocates Gauri Puri and Vipul Joshi appeared for Sameer Verma. Advocate Pankaj Mulwani represented State..[Read Order]