March 15: A high court judge today refused to hear a Sonarpur resident's petition praying for an order to police to act against a neighbour whose two dogs he said had been disturbing him and his family by barking at night.

Justice Joymalya Bagchi said he could not hear the case because he was a "dog lover" and had "no idea whether there was any technique to reduce the sound of barking".

Petitioner Suman Bal submitted that the Sonarpur police had not taken any action against his neighbour, Pradip Banerjee, despite repeated complaints.

Lawyer Kabita Mukherjee, who appeared for Bal, submitted: "My client's neighbour has two dogs - an Alsatian (German shepherd) and a Husky. Both bark so loudly at night that my client and his family members cannot sleep. His month-old child fell ill because of lack of adequate sleep. He had lodged a complaint against his neighbour with Sonarpur police station but the police did not take any action against him yet."

After hearing Bal, Justice Bagchi said: "The duty of dogs is to bark. What can I do? How can a court interfere in the issue and pass any order restraining the dogs from barking."

"The dogs bark loudly at night," the lawyer pointed out.

"I know dogs bark loudly at night. What will I do?" Justice Bagchi said.

"But my client's family has been going through hell because of this. Please do something. The barking becomes louder as the night progresses. It is an intolerable situation," Mukherjee pleaded with the judge.

Justice Bagchi then said: "I am a dog lover and I have no idea whether there is any technique to reduce the sound of barking of a dog."

This is not the first instance of neighbours fighting over pet dogs. On January 20, a 53-year-old businessman had been arrested for allegedly entering a neighbour's house in Ballygunge and hitting him with a metal rod for not being able to keep his German shepherd from barking.

A German shepherd, if medically fit and looked after well, is usually quiet and not prone to unprovoked barking at night, according to veterinarian Goutam Mukherjee.

A Husky, on the other hand, often howls at night. "Huskies have wolf-like features and their bark is a lot like a wolf's cry. Like wolves, it is in their nature to howl at night, at times unprovoked," said Mukherjee.

The German shepherd in the Sonarpur house might have taken after Husky as the two live together.

According to the veterinarian, lack of adequate exercise and being tied up could make dogs bark. "Often pets bark in competition with street dogs," Mukherjee added.

Appearing for the state, advocate Subhobrata Dutta submitted in the court that the police could not act against Bal's neighbour as he had licences for the pets. "The owner of the dogs is a retired police officer who has proper licences for his pets. How can the police take any action against him?" the lawyer asked.

"Then how can the court entertain such a petition?" Justice Bagchi wondered and refused to hear the case.

Dutta finally informed the judge that the owner of the dogs had recently lodged a complaint against Bal with Sonarpur police station. "According to the complaint, Bal had written abuses on a board and hung it outside Banerjee's home," he said.

When contacted, Bal said: "If the police and even the court cannot save us from barking, where will I go? I have every right to live in peace. But the dogs are preventing me from living a peaceful life. There must be some law in this regard. Sleeping is my fundamental right. Nobody can curb my right."

Prasenjit Dutta, of the NGO People For Animals, said: "If the dogs' medical and vaccination records are up to date and they are well fed and looked after, the owner cannot be punished.... The owner can slap a case of animal cruelty on his neighbour if he continues to harass him and force him to give up his dogs."