NOB-Bharat news: The Supreme Court responded to media reports on the menace of stray dogs in the country and took up the matter for suo motu hearing. A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan took up the matter. However, it made it clear that it would hear arguments only from the Centre on this issue and would not entertain petitions from animal lovers or any other party. The bench said that these orders were issued keeping in mind the public interest. Justice Pardiwala sought Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s opinion on the relocation sites for stray dogs. He said that a place has already been identified for this purpose. However, he explained that it has been stopped due to animal rights activists getting a stay order. The angry bench asked, “Can all the animal lovers together bring back those who died of rabies?” It said that no one should be allowed to adopt stray dogs. It directed the officials to immediately build shelters for the dogs. It also said that stray dogs will not be allowed to be adopted. It instructed the civic authorities to start a helpline within a week to report dog bite cases.