Stray dog case: Bihar official seeks exemption from SC citing Bihar polls; plea rejected with 'nothing to do' remark

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected Bihar chief secretary Pratyaya Amrit’s plea to be exempted from appearing in court in the matter relating to the stray dog menace across the country. Amrit had earlier requested to be excused from attending the hearing, citing the ongoing work related to the upcoming assembly election in the state. The bench, however, turned down his request, noting that he has no role in managing election-related activities and that such matters are handled by the Election Commission.The court made its position clear, saying the chief secretary “has nothing to do with the election.” “So you come here,” the bench directed.This comes after Supreme Court, on Monday, had criticised several states and Union Territories for not complying with its orders on controlling stray dog attacks. The bench observed that the lack of action was reflecting poorly on the country internationally. “Continuous incidents are happening and the image of the country is being shown as down in the eyes of foreign nations,” Justice Nath said, while leading the three-judge bench.Only the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the governments of West Bengal and Telangana have filed their affidavits so far. The bench said that Chief Secretaries of every other state and Union Territory must be present in court at 10.30 am on November 3, with an explanation for the delay. Pratyaya Amrit, a 1991-batch IAS officer, assumed charge as Bihar’s chief secretary back in September.