Are Corporations responsible for stray dogs?

Are Corporations responsible for stray dogs? written by Diksha Sharma student of Government Law College, Mumbai

Corporation of Calicut vs Veluthedath Bindu

Facts:

A girl residing within a Corporation on way to her house was bitten by a dog. The instance drew attention when the girl started crying and there was clamour around. The neighbors fulfilled a moral duty of taking the girl to a nearby hospital for treatment. The respondent that is the father of the girl claimed compensation from the Corporation authority, as the dog was believed to be a stray dog, on account of expenses he had to incur for the treatment of his daughter along with an additional amount for her mental health. The learned Sub judge concluded of rewarding a compensation of Rs.5, 500, which was challenged by the appellant.

Issues:

Whether the Corporation authority is liable to pay the damages?

Legal Provisions:

Municipality Act

Appellant’s Contention:

It was contented by the learned counsel on behalf of the appellant that a mandatory duty imposed upon the Corporation to remove all stray dogs is incorrect. There is no proof to justify the incident as worded by the respondent and the respondent was negligent. There is no proof to show if a stray dog was present on the spot of the incident. It was pleaded to dismiss the appeal of the respondent.

Respondent’s Contention:

The learned counsel submitted that a mandatory duty does lie upon the Corporation authority to issue a license to the owners of domestic dogs and be given the vaccine to prevent any spread of disease like rabies. The dog ran away from there and no one was present to witness the mishap. The counsel relied on the judgment of Jacob Mathew v. Corporation of Cochin, Municipal Commissioner v. David, and Municipal Corporation of Delhi v. Sushila Devi to support his contention. Therefore, the Corporation authority is liable to pay the damages.

Observations of the court:

The court observed that it was a misfortunate event that a girl was bitten by a random dog and had to sustain injuries. However, it did not occur on the failure on the part of the officers. The Corporation may howsoever take several precautions to prevent stray dogs but there is always a possibility of animals straying into the Corporation authority. The question which has to be answered is that the incident took place within the premises of the Corporation which was the only fact looked upon by the Learned Subordinate judge and did not consider other aspects involved.

Judgment:

The learned subordinate judge had erred in making a decision and therefore, the corporation is not liable to pay any damages.