A two-member division bench comprising Chief Justice M B Shah and Justice Y S Jagirdar issued the order in response to a petition filed by several animal rights organisations, including AHIMSA and Viniyog Parivar. A greatly relieved Dr Satnam Ahuja of AHIMSA alleged there was every possibility of BMC workers killing healthy dogs because they were too scared to touch rabid ones.

"As per the court's direction, the BMC will now issue guidelines on how they are going to identify the sick dogs," she said.

BMC, on the other hand, today reiterated its resolve to go ahead with the drive once the stay was vacated. The health committee chief, Sardar Tara Singh said: "We will set to rest all thedoubts raised by animal activists in the court. There is a provision for killing dogs in the BMC Act and we are going according to the rules," he added.

He also rejected NGOs' demand that they be shown the dogs before and after they were killed. "Who are these NGOs to dictate terms to us?" he asked.

Preparations, meanwhile, are on at the Deonar Dog Kennel that can house about 300 dogs. "We are making cages where the dogs will be kept for three days before being put to sleep. Any claims about the ownership of the dogs thus rounded up will have to be made in these three days," Sardar Tara Singh said.