Edits | September, 2025
The Dog Verdict. The Supreme Court is Right and surprisingly animal right activists aren’t! The recent verdict by the Supreme Court on the management of stray dogs in residential areas sparked debate across the nation. We saw people from the activist community prancing around roads, trying to save their beloved dogs. The noise from these rallies did reach the Supreme Court’s ears and it released a revised decision.
Now, the court said that the dogs will be picked, vaccinated, and released back to the area. But the ferocious ones, and the ones with rabies, won’t be allowed back into society. People won’t be able to feed them in public, and feeding will only happen in designated areas. According to Astrology, feeding dogs, especially the black ones, will reduce the influences of Saturn and Rahu. But with this, Lord Bhairava is not going to be pleased.
This decision has surely dimmed the voices on the street, but will India ever find a solution for the strays.
No matter how cute and loving they are, you won’t pet them when they sit on top of your cars at night – create a little dent, or destroy the seat covers of your two-wheeler, or bite your kid when he/she is out playing. Nobody would like them then. India is struggling to find a proper shelter for its Gau-Mata, so how come dogs will be prioritised?
If the Supreme Court says, Dog Shelters – India has to invest in dog shelters. But in the long run, this is not going to be a feasible option. As a country full of strays, we need to find alternative solutions for them. One would be surprised to know that India is the second largest beef (mostly buffalo meat) exporter in the world. In 2015, a Gram Panchayat Association in Kerala decided to cull stray dogs and export their meat to parts of northeast India and China. This decision was not taken nicely by the animal activists, and accepted norms such as sterilization, and birth control were adopted. According to an estimation, 10 million dogs are eaten across China every year. Dogs, a walking menace in India, is a walking meal for the Red Dragon.
Therefore, finding a solution to this problem can surely be a tricky game.
Justice Over Power. The conviction of Prajwal Revanna, former Member of Parliament and grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, marks a significant moment in India’s legal and political landscape. Revanna was sentenced to life imprisonment on August 2, 2025, for the rape of a 47-year-old domestic worker employed at his family’s Gannikada farmhouse in Hassan. The court also imposed a fine of ₹11.5 lakh, with ₹11.25 lakh directed to the survivor as compensation.
The case unfolded like a grim thriller. In April 2024, videos allegedly showing Revanna committing the assaults surfaced, sparking public outrage when pen drives with the footage circulated in Hassan. Within days, his election agent filed an FIR claiming the videos were a smear campaign ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Despite the controversy, polling proceeded on April 26, and Revanna left the country on a diplomatic passport, a move that seemed to underscore the privilege he had long relied upon.
According to reports, the pen drive circulated among people in Hassan contained 2,976 videos, some lasting only a few seconds and others several minutes. These videos were allegedly recorded by Prajwal Revanna himself and depicted acts of sexual assault. The pen drives were reportedly distributed in public spaces such as parks, bus stops, and a stadium in Hassan, leading to widespread circulation and public outrage.
Additionally, a former driver of Prajwal Revanna testified in court that he found over 2,000 explicit photographs and 40–50 videos of women on Revanna’s mobile phone. These materials were reportedly stored in a folder on the phone and involved women who were party workers, maid servants, and others associated with Revanna.
By May 2, 2024, the Karnataka government had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the allegations. Revanna returned from Germany at the end of May, only to be arrested by an all-women SIT on May 31. The investigation meticulously gathered evidence, including the damning video recordings, and the prosecution successfully used the rarely-invoked “Res Gestae” doctrine to admit spontaneous statements from the survivor as credible proof.
The swift conviction — barely 14 months after the FIR — stands out in a country where high-profile cases often drag for years. Yet, the case is more than a legal milestone. It highlights the courage of a domestic worker whose persistence challenged both a political dynasty and the inertia of the system. Revanna’s downfall underscores a bitter truth: privilege can delay justice, but it cannot indefinitely deny accountability. For once, power stumbled on its own arrogance, and the law prevailed — a rare, if sobering, victory for justice in India.
CA Divesh Nath
Editor Woman’s Era LinkedIn: Divesh Nath