The Delhi High Court has scheduled July 16, 2025, to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking stronger legal safeguards against sexual violence on animals and prosecution of offenders.

The matter was listed by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, with directions allowing the petitioner to place additional facts on record.

The PIL, filed by the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO), raises serious concerns about the absence of specific penal provisions following the repeal of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the newly enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

FIAPO contends that the Supreme Court’s ruling in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India, which decriminalised consensual same-sex relations between adults, resulted in the repeal of Section 377. However, the complete removal of the provision has unintentionally left animals vulnerable to sexual abuse, with no specific law criminalising such acts.

The petition urges the Court to recommend the reintroduction of protections similar to the former Section 377, at least insofar as it pertained to non-consensual sexual acts involving animals.

The PIL draws support from a recent report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, which proposed the inclusion of a provision to penalise non-consensual sexual acts involving men, transpersons, and animals.

To support its plea, FIAPO has cited several recent incidents of animal sexual abuse, including:

• The Shahdara case in Delhi, where a man was arrested for allegedly raping multiple dogs.

• An incident in Saket, where a dog was found unconscious and injured, with a condom recovered from its private parts.

• A case in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, involving a construction worker allegedly caught abusing a dog.

The Court has taken note of the petition and adjourned the matter to enable further submissions. The upcoming hearing on July 16 is expected to consider both legislative gaps and the larger implications of animal welfare in the post-BNS legal framework.