The Supreme Court has granted Nalsar University of Law a narrow exception in its May 19 judgment on stray dog management. The ruling allows the Hyderabad institution to continue its controlled campus housing initiative for community dogs while assigning tortious liability to its Animal Law Centre in case of bites.
The exception stems from the university’s long-running ‘Nalsar model’ of dog management. It began after a 2017 incident in which a mother dog and her four puppies were poisoned on the 50-acre campus. Students and faculty responded by forming volunteer groups and establishing feeding and sterilisation programmes.
Today the campus maintains six to eight designated feeding spots. Around 20 to 30 student volunteers use university funds to feed, vaccinate and sterilise the dogs. The population has stabilised at approximately 20 animals after a census and boundary checks that prevent new dogs from entering.
The Animal Law Centre, set up in 2018, drafted a formal dog policy by 2020-21. The policy places oversight with the elected student bar council and requires conflict mitigation between humans and dogs. A WhatsApp group called ‘We for the Dogs’ and an Instagram page ‘Dogs of Nalsar’ support daily coordination.
Supreme Court justices noted the accountability measures in place. They stated that any framework for stray dog management must include clearly defined principles of responsibility. Nalsar faculty member Vivek Mukherjee said the judgment recognises the campus as an experiment that other institutions could replicate.