Actor and comedian Vir Das on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court order that modified the previous direction of sending the stray dogs in Delhi-NCR to shelter homes. He expressed his gratitude to the top court for supporting the “process of sterilisation, vaccination and a safe return of our community dogs”. Das added that he hopes the municipality will work on the directions in a speedy manner to address all the concerns.
“Thank you to the Supreme Court of India for supporting the process of sterilisation, vaccination and a safe return of our community dogs to their neighbourhood,” the comedian said in a post on X.
Thank you to the Supreme Court of India for supporting the process of sterilisation, vaccination and a safe return of our community dogs to their neighbourhood. Hopefully the municipality can be speedy about creating dedicated feeding areas and also rely on multiple dog trainers…
— Vir Das (@thevirdas) August 22, 2025
“Hopefully the municipality can be speedy about creating dedicated feeding areas and also rely on multiple dog trainers and behaviourists in delhi and nationwide for behavioural modification and community integration 🙏�❤️,” he further said, adding that “it is nice to know our voiceless dogs can rely on your empathy and balance.”
On August 17, Vir Das shared an article that he wrote in a newspaper and said, “I hope India goes to the dogs. For our strays, our Indies, our community dogs 🙏 “
When a user replied that he hopes Vir’s house is filled with “strays, with no one besides you”, Vir, in a manner that he usually does, replied with two photographs.
My home is filled with strays. They are beside me. They’ve been adopted, sterilised, vaccinated and trained. Here’s a photo for your reference. Cheers. https://t.co/KA6GKJOOhN pic.twitter.com/PmYidJJj1L
— Vir Das (@thevirdas) August 18, 2025
In the photos, he could be seen with two dogs at his home. “My home is filled with strays. They are beside me. They’ve been adopted, sterilised, vaccinated and trained. Here’s a photo for your reference. Cheers,” he said in the post.
SC alters stray dogs order
The Supreme Court on Friday changed its previous order and said that keeping vaccinated stray dogs away from pounds in Delhi-CR is “too harsh”. The 3-judge bench said that the canines should be released post sterlisation and de-worming. Headed by Justice Vikarm Nath, the bench expanded the scope of the stray dogs caseVir, and directed all states and union territories to be made parties in the matter.
It added that the municipal authorities would continue to comply with the August 11 directions, which means they should pick up stray dogs from all localities of Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad and Gurugram and immediately create dog shelters or pounds.
“The dogs that are picked up shall be sterilised, dewormed, vaccinated, and released back to the same area from which they were picked up,” the bench, also comprising Justices Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria, said, quoted PTI.
It clarified the dogs infected with rabies or suspected to be infected with rabies and those displaying aggression should be released back.
“A blanket direction to pick up all the strays and place them in dog shelters/pounds without evaluating the existing infrastructure may lead to a catch-22 situation because such directions may be impossible to comply with,” the bench said.
“Thus, the direction given in the order dated August 11, 2025, prohibiting the release of the treated and vaccinated dogs seems to be too harsh, in our opinion,” the court said.
Celebrities welcome order
Earlier, several actors had voiced concern about the top court’s order to pick and send all the stray dogs in shelter homes. Actor John Abraham even wrote to CJI BR Gavai saying these dogs are “Delhiites too in their own way”. On Friday, after the relief from the SC, many celebrities thanked the court for considering their opinions.
Actress Raveena Tandon thanked the court in her Instagram Stories. ““Dogesh bhai! Tum aage bahdo! Hum Tumhare saath hain (We are with you)! Better sense has prevailed. Thank you #cji #supremecourt. Now make sure the programmes and monies allocated for vaccinations and sterilisations are implemented rightly,” she wrote.
Popular actress of top performing daily soad Anupana, Rupali Ganguly said the order was a “big win for compassion!”
“Grateful to the Hon’ble Supreme Court for modifying its order, allowing sterilisation & release of stray dogs in Delhi. This step not only safeguards people from rabies & overpopulation risks but also lets our voiceless companions live with dignity. True progress is when compassion & safety walk hand in hand,” she added.