Indian Courts Order Compensation for Stray Animal Accident Victims

The Supreme Court of India directed the central and state governments to establish a formal mechanism for paying compensation to victims of accidents caused by stray animals. A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh highlighted that over 1,300 deaths occur annually due to animal attacks, criticizing the trend of abandoning cattle once they cease to be economically useful.

These directives emerged from an appeal by a woman, Nisha, whose husband was killed by a stray bull in Sangrur, Punjab, in 2007. The Supreme Court reversed a Punjab and Haryana High Court decision and awarded Nisha 15 lakh rupees in lump sum compensation, though it noted this specific amount does not set a legal precedent. To prevent future incidents, the court mandated the tagging of all animals for tracking and health services, the creation of authorized shelters, and the appointment of nodal officers to oversee digitization.

In a separate ruling, the Kerala High Court held the Eruvessy grama panchayat liable for a 2007 stray dog attack on a resident named Tankappan. The court ordered the panchayat to pay 10,000 rupees, ruling that the local body failed its statutory obligations under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001, by failing to sterilize dogs or establish monitoring committees.