In a criminal writ petition filed before the Delhi High Court assailing orders dated 11-08-2025 and 30-01-2026 by the Trial Court regarding the release of three pet dogs on superdari in a trial for the commission of an offense under Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, a Single Judge Bench of Justice Girish Kathpalia directed for the dogs to be released to the petitioners on superdari with a condition to return their custody to the owner upon his acquittal.
A raid was conducted at the premises of respondent 3, and a few dogs that were kept in deplorable conditions were found and rescued. These dogs were handed over by the police to the respondent NGO. Thereafter, the present petitioners adopted three of those dogs from the said NGO.
An application for superdari was filed by respondent 3, claiming himself to be the rightful owner of the dogs. This application was allowed by the Trial Court, and it was directed that all rescued dogs be released to respondent 3. Aggrieved by this, the present petition was filed.
The Court stated that the issue of custody of dogs, or any animal, cannot be treated on par with that of an inanimate object, since the emotional bond created between the adopter and the pet cannot be ignored. It was said that the issue before the Court was the emotional trauma that the dogs would be going through after being separated from their adoptive parents, and that the issue as to whether respondent 3 was treating them with cruelty was in the Trial Court’s domain.
Considering the dogs’ welfare, both sides arrived at an arrangement for the dogs to be released to the petitioners on superdari on a condition that, in the event of his acquittal, custody of the dogs would be returned to him, subject to their welfare.
The Court modified the impugned orders and directed respondent 3 to release the three dogs to the petitioners within a day. The petitioners were directed to submit superdarinamas worth Rs. 50,000/- before the Trial Court within a day and to ensure that they would produce the said dogs before the Trial Court if required at the stage of evidence.
Thus, the petition was disposed of.
Appearances:
For Petitioners – Ms. Puja Anand, Ms. Manisha Parmar
For Respondents – Mr. Anand V. Khatri (ASC), Mr. Siddharth Chaturvedi, Mr. Mayank Sharma
