Nagpur: The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has asked the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to clarify whether enough anti-rabies vaccines are available in government hospitals. The Court has given a deadline of Thursday, July 17 to file an affidavit.
During the hearing on Monday, Justice Anil S Kilor and Justice M M Nerlikar questioned the availability of life-saving vaccines used to treat dog bite victims. There were conflicting statements: The petitioners’ lawyer, senior Adv Firdous Mirza, claimed vaccines are not available, while the Municipal Corporation’s lawyer, Adv S M Puranik, insisted they are.
The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Vijay Talewar and Manoj Shakya and asked the administration to take action against stray dog attacks and to provide compensation to victims. Adv Mirza told the court that a dog bite victim was denied a rabies injection at Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (Mayo). The nurse allegedly said that vaccines were “reserved for VIPs.” The court took this seriously and asked the Municipal Commissioner to submit a detailed affidavit.
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15 july 2025
Adv Ashwin Deshpande, Adv S S Sanyal and DSGI N S Deshpande represented the respondents.
Explanation sought from CP
A case of 12-year old Jayesh Bokde, a resident of Dev Heights in Pawangaon, was also mentioned in court. A stray dog chased Jayesh and caused him to fall from the sixth floor. He died as a result. Taking this incident into account, the High Court has also directed the Police Commissioner Dr Ravinder Kumar Singal to submit an explanation.
