The Delhi High Court on Friday sought response of the AAP government on a plea that an Advisory Board for Animal Welfare with a dedicated staff and budget be set up in the national capital at the earliest to tackle the issue of illegal breeding of pedigree dogs. A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao issued notice to the Delhi government and sought its stand by January 14 to the plea by animal rights activist Gauri Maulekhi who has said that the Board has been constituted several times in the past, but it has remained "defunct".

Maulekhi, represented by senior advocate Raj Panjwani, has said in her plea that the Board was first constituted in 1992 and then again in 1995, 1999 and 2014. However, it continued to be "totally defunct" as it has "not performed any functions at all since its inception" and only holds meetings twice a year, she has contended. The application, filed through advocate Priyanka Bangari, said the Board was defunct as it "included ex-officio members from various departments and certain non-government members from civil society". "However, not a single officer was deputed to the Board," it said.