In cities across the country, the feral animals are both loved and feared. The judges are forging into intensely emotional territory by going after the ones in the capital.

India’s top court has ordered authorities in New Delhi to start removing all stray dogs from its streets and to sterilize and relocate them to shelters permanently.

The court’s intervention comes just days after a two-judge bench initiated suo motu proceedings and ordered relocation of strays from the streets to dedicated shelters.