Sign this Petition to support the Amendment of a toothless PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ACT, 1960 and IPC Section 429.

Recently, the act of students torturing, beating up and killing a pregnant dog in South Delhi has shocked a lot of us. The 15-minute viral video shows quite a few students and staff bludgeoning the street dog. Unsettling parts of the video includes a student entering a tin shed with a rod; where the pregnant dog was hiding to save her unborn children; while other students continue to cheer for the gruesome actions.

A few days earlier, another video from Ghaziabad had surfaced; where a group of men hangs a dog by a chain. The men kill their own pet in this heart-wrenching video. Around the same time in Hyderabad, a man kills two puppies in a horrific manner – one was hung from a tree and another flung from the fourth floor of a building. Others found out about the incident when he uploaded videos of these murders on his Instagram ID. In Badalpur, Maharastra; a man kills a puppy for defecating on his residential premises.

For such acts of Animal Cruelty; the accused are booked under the below sections:

Section 11 (1) of the THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ACT, 1960: 

“in the case of a first offence, with fine which shall not be less than ten rupees but which may extend to fifty rupees and in the case of a second or subsequent offence committed within three years of the previous offence, with fine which shall not be less than twenty-five rupees but which may extend to one hundred rupees or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with both.”

Section 429 of the IPC:

“Whoever commits mischief by killing, poisoning, maiming or rendering useless, any elephant, camel, horse, mule, buffalo, bull, cow or ox, whatever may be the value thereof, or any other animal of the value of fifty rupees or upwards, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both.” – It is a bailable offence. 

Proposed Amendment:

₹50 was a formidable amount when the laws were drafted. Today, the value of the amount become a notional gesture. This in turn is making THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ACT, 1960 and section 429 of the IPC toothless.

In comparison to the revised traffic fines like “Driving without Qualification will attract a fine of Rs. 10,000 and/or community service”; the penalties on the acts of Animal Cruelty are insignificant.

This petition is to gather support towards amending the Act and ensuring that the fine amount is increased to a minimum of ₹1,00,000.

Suggestions: 

Do write to mohan2k4@gmail.com and vm.parthasarathy@gmail.com with your suggestions on how to amend the act, as well.