New Delhi, Aug. 23 -- The Supreme Court on Friday reversed its controversial blanket ban in Delhi-NCR on releasing captured animals, acknowledging that the earlier prohibition was "too harsh" and "impossible to comply with", and ordered the transfer of all similar petitions pending before high courts to itself "so that a national policy could be framed to deal with the issue". Holding that the August 11 prohibition on releasing stray dogs was overly severe, a three-judge bench led by Justice Vikram Nath modified the earlier directions, clarifying that canines picked up by municipal authorities in Delhi and four adjoining districts-Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad-will be released in the same locality after sterilisation and immunisation, except those suffering from rabies or displaying aggressive behaviour. Significantly, the court expanded the scope of the suo motu case to the entire country, impleading all states and Union territories and seeking reports from their animal husbandry departments and local bodies on Animal Birth Control compliance. It also ordered the transfer of all similar petitions pending before high courts to itself "so that a national policy could be framed to deal with the issue." The top court's clarification that community dogs must be picked up, sterilised and vaccinated, and then released-save for rabid or demonstrably aggressive animals-essentially reiterates the Animal Birth Control Rules 2023. Those rules, framed under Section 38 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, require local authorities to run ABC and anti-rabies programmes premised on catch-neuter-vaccinate-release. The bench, also comprising Justices Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria, noted that some mandates in the August 11 order by a two-judge bench were "impossible to comply with" given existing infrastructure. The original order had directed authorities to establish shelters with capacity for at least 5,000 animals within eight weeks and prohibited the release of any treated and vaccinated dogs. "The direction given in the order dated 11th August, 2025, prohibiting the release of the treated and vaccinated dogs seems to be too harsh, in our opinion... 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 held. While the intent behind the August 11 order was "salutary" in seeking to protect citizens from aggressive and rabid dogs, the court said it could not be enforced in disregard of the statutory framework under the ABC Rules. In what was a rare administrative intervention, Chief Justice Bhushan R Gavai withdrew the matter from the original bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan and reassigned it to the larger three-judge bench after criticism and fresh pleas complaining about inconsistencies with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and Animal Birth Control Rules. The larger bench heard the matter at length on August 14 before reserving orders. The court reiterated that municipal authorities in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad must proceed with mass capture of stray dogs and establish shelters or pounds for their relocation. However, it made clear that stray dogs must undergo sterilisation, vaccination and deworming, and then be released in the same locality, as mandated under ABC Rules. Dogs infected or suspected of rabies, or showing aggressive behaviour, are to be sterilised and immunised but kept in separate shelters....