I am thankful to the stray dogs for making me known: Justice Vikram Nath's humorous take on the stay order

Justice Vikram Nath, the Supreme Court judge who headed the bench that recently overturned an earlier ruling on stray dogs in Delhi-NCR, was amused by the unexpected fame the case brought him.

"So long I have been known in the legal fraternity for the little work I do, but I am thankful to the stray dogs for making me known to the entire civil society, not only in this country but world over," he said on Saturday at an event in Thiruvananthapuram, reported TOI.

Justice Nath is in line to become the next Chief Justice of India (CJI) in February 2027. He also expressed gratitude to current CJI BR Gavai for assigning the case to him.


“And I am thankful to my CJI for allotting me that matter. I felt very elated… well, people outside India also know me. So I am thankful to them for giving me this recognition,” he said.

“And I have also been receiving messages saying that apart from dog lovers, dogs are also giving me blessings and good wishes. In addition to human blessings and good wishes, I have their good wishes also," he added.

On August 22, the bench led by Justice Nath stayed the August 11 ruling by a smaller two-judge bench. Earlier, the court had directed that stray dogs picked up from Delhi-NCR must not be released from shelters, sparking widespread protests by animal welfare activists and dog lovers.

The three-judge bench, however, modified the order and ruled that dogs should be returned to the same location from where they were picked up, but only after being vaccinated and sterilised, which aligns with the directive of the existing animal welfare guidelines.

CJI Gavai transferred the case to Justice Nath's bench after it was brought to his notice that the August 11 order was in conflict with earlier coordinate bench orders on the same matter.