No. It is illegal under Section 9(k) of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
It is illegal for housing societies to pass pet bye-laws that disallow pets, not even if the majority of residents of the society vote for it. Societies cannot prevent people who have pets from renting houses.
According to Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) guidelines, pets cannot be debarred by RWAs from using lifts or parks. However, RWAs can impose reasonable restrictions by issuing guidelines, to secure interest of residents.
Housing societies cannot cite dog barking for any proposed ban or restrictions. AWBI says barking is recognised as a natural form of expression for dogs and cannot be used as a reason to ban pets. But pet owners should ensure that barking does not cause a nuisance
RWAs cannot insist that ‘small’ sized dogs are acceptable and ‘large’ sized dogs are not.
RWAs and AOAs also cannot insist on the use of a muzzle, according to the AWBI guidelines.
AWBI guidelines make it clear that any association that succeeds in intimidating a pet owner into ‘giving up’ or ‘abandoning’ a pet is abetting the violation of the law.
If a pet dog bites or injures a person, a criminal complaint can be filed under Sections 287 and 337 of the IPC. However, this is still not a reason for RWAs to frame unreasonable rules.
In case a pet dog bites a neighbour or any individual, he or she would have to show that the pet owner was being negligent, that he or she did not provoke the dog, that it was not leashed etc
Pet owners can be prosecuted and punished if their pet causes injury to another person
Both criminal and civil action (for damages) can be set into motion. FIR and civil suit for damages can also be filed.