New Delhi, Jan 22 (PTI) A court here on Thursday imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre (SGACC) over non-compliance of its order to release all 10 dogs it had seized in an investigation.
Additional Sessions Judge Surabhi Sharma Vats imposed the fine after the investigating officer (IO) in the case informed the court that only eight out of 10 seized dogs were released by the animal care centre.
Earlier, on January 13, the court ordered the SGACC to hand over the custody of seized dogs, saying that the animal shelter’s conduct demonstrated blatant non-compliance, gross negligence and deliberate misrepresentation.
The IO on Thursday informed the court that the eight dogs have been delivered to the applicant, Vishal (owner of the dogs) and the remaining two dogs, one of poodle breed and another of the Maltese breed, are still under the custody of the animal care centre.
On January 16, the court again criticised the SGACC for failing to comply with the judicial order and termed the explanation given by the animal care centre “totally unsatisfactory” and “evasive.” The order was given in response to a criminal revision petition filed by the animal shelter, challenging a magistrate court order directing it to release the dogs to Vishal, who was named as an accused in an FIR registered at the Jagat Puri police station.
The SGACC’s counsel on Thursday submitted in the court that the poodle breed dog’s custody was refused by Vishal only as he denied it was his, leading the court to demand full medical records.
The animal care centre, however, admitted that it could not locate the Maltese.
However, Vishal’s lawyer told the court that out of eight returned dogs, four appeared mutilated and two dogs — a Maltese and a Poodle — weren’t returned.
The lawyer added that the poodle dog offered by the centre did not belong to his client, and therefore, his client (Vishal) refused to take the dog’s custody.
The court then directed the SGACC to release the poodle breed dog in the custody of the owner and directed it to file a detailed report about the Maltese dog on next hearing, and listed the matter for February 4. PTI SKM AMJ AMJ
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