SC seeks report from Kerala on compensations to victims of dog bites

The Supreme Court today sought to know from the Kerala government on whether compensation has been paid to the people bitten by stray dogs in the state and warned the concerned authorities of contempt if they had not done so.

The apex court asked the state government to place before it a compliance report following recommendations made by a committee appointed by the apex court to pay compensation.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said if compensation is not given within two weeks, contempt proceedings may be initiated against the authorities concerned.

It was earlier alleged before the top court that the dog bite victims, despite being awarded the compensation by the panel, had not yet been paid by the state government.

The committee, headed by former Kerala High Court judge Justice S S Jagan, had told the top court that over one lakh people in Kerala have been bitten by dogs in 2015-16, warning that frequent stray dog attacks on children in the state had created a dangerous situation.

A batch of petitions by various NGOs and individuals was heard by the apex court, which had in 2016 set up the panel headed by the former judge to inquire into the incidents of people killing stray dogs and the support rendered to this by vigilante groups in the state.