India, Oct. 31 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to accept Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's request to allow the chief secretaries of states to appear virtually in the stray dogs case, insisting that they must be physically present in court on November 3.

"There is no respect for the court's orders. Let the state chief secretaries come physically," the bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta observed, rejecting the plea for virtual attendance.

The court's direction comes amid repeated non-compliance by several states and union territories, which failed to file affidavits despite the apex court's August 22 order seeking details on measures taken under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules.

Earlier, the Bihar government had...