Several prominent Bollywood figures, including Janhvi Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Chinmayi Sripaada, Varun Grover, and Vir Das, have criticised the Supreme Court’s recent directive ordering all stray dogs in Delhi-NCR to be relocated to shelters. The celebrities labelled the ruling as a ‘death sentence for all dogs’ on social media.
Actors Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Dhawan shared a powerful message on their Instagram Stories, highlighting the distressing nature of the court’s order. The note acknowledged that while “there are problems,” forcibly “caging an entire community of animals is not a solution.”
The statement read, “They call it a menace. We call it a heartbeat. Today, the Supreme Court says, take every stray dog off the streets of Delhi-NCR and lock them away. No sunlight. No freedom. No familiar faces they greet every morning.”
It continued, “But these aren’t just ‘stray dogs.’ They’re the ones who wait outside your tea stall for a biscuit. The silent night guards for shopkeepers. The wagging tails that welcome children home from school. They’re the warmth in a cold, uncaring city. Yes, there are issues, bites, safety concerns, but caging an entire community is not a solution, it’s an erasure. What’s truly needed? Large-scale sterilisation programmes, regular vaccination drives, designated community feeding areas, and proper adoption efforts. Not punishment. Not imprisonment. A society that cannot protect its voiceless is one that is losing its soul. Today it’s the dogs. Tomorrow… who will it be?”
Singer Chinmayi Sripaada echoed her concern on X and wrote, “I read this as a death sentence for all dogs. People abandon Huskies, Labradors, and German Shepherds after breeding them to exhaustion in India. ‘Shelters’, indeed. Since dogs are considered the vehicle of Lord Kala Bhairava, may He intervene.”
Filmmaker Siddharth Anand also spoke out, “There’s simply no compassion left. Who will ensure they’re fed in those shelters? At least on the streets, some kind-hearted souls still feed these voiceless beings. In shelters, they’ll starve. This is a death warrant. Someone, please start a petition. We must stop this genocide. I stand with you!”
Actor Adivi Sesh added his voice to the growing chorus, “As a citizen who respects both the letter and the spirit of the law, I am deeply disturbed by the recent order calling for the mass confinement of street dogs in Delhi-NCR. This measure not only flouts our legal responsibilities but also betrays the compassionate principles that India is meant to uphold.”
The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, stated unequivocally that all areas in NCT Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, and Ghaziabad must be cleared of stray dogs, with no exceptions. Furthermore, the court ruled that no animals captured during the drive may be released back onto the streets.
The court also warned that contempt proceedings would be initiated against any individual or organisation obstructing the implementation of the order. It instructed municipal and state authorities to establish shelters with adequate staff to facilitate sterilisation and immunisation efforts.
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