Dog injured; Sessions court orders further trial in the case

How can a person be prosecuted for killing or injuring an animal?
This unique question was posed before a sessions court which ordered continuation of trial in a case in which a pet dog was intentionally injured on its neck by a youth, attracting section 429 of the Indian Penal Code in which the value of the canine has to be Rs 50 or more.
As per this penal provision, it is an offence if anybody commits mischief by killing, maiming or rendering useless any camel, elephant, horse, mule, buffalo, bull, cow or ox, of whatever value or any other animal worth Rs 50 or more. It provides for punishment with a maximum of five year jail term.

Dealing with one such case, Additional Sessions Judge Naresh Kumar Malhotra allowed the prosecution of a Delhi resident for injuring a pet dog in February 2014 by attacking it on its neck with a sharp object.
The dog was taken to Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre here where it received stitches and recovered after over a month.
"In this case, the dog was pet dog of the complainant so it cannot be said that value of the dog is less than Rs 50. Without any evidence on record, the (trial court) magistrate has held that value of the dog is less than Rs 50.

"The magistrate has erred ... (in doing so). In the present case, the dog received injuries with a sharp pointed thing on his neck and the dog was treated for one month. Dog was given stitches under general anesthesia and he was fit only after one month and two days," the court said.
"In this case, the dog was injured by sharp pointed thing and he was rendered useless for one month and two days, I am of the view that the magistrate erred in not taking cognizance of the offence. The judgment relied upon by the prosecutor for the State is fully applicable to the present case," it added.

The court set aside the magistrate's January order and allowed the revision petition of the prosecution while remanding the case back to the trial court to proceed as per law. It directed Nihal Vihar resident Sunny, who is accused of injuring the dog, to appear before the trial court.