NEW DELHI, March 13 (UPI) -- India's Supreme Court on Wednesday barred Hindus from holding a symbolic prayer near the site of a 16th-century mosque that was razed in 1992.
"We direct that no religious activities of any nature by anyone shall be allowed till further orders," a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled.
The Attorney General Soli Sorabjee told the court that a symbolic prayer ceremony could be permitted for three hours at a site 300 meters away from the disputed spot.
He assured the court that the prayer ceremony could conducted by 60-70 religious leaders and the government would not allow any Hindu volunteers to go near the site.
"The law and order will be strictly enforced and no outsider will be allowed to enter Ayodhya," Sorabjee told the court.
But the court reiterated its 1994 order saying no construction activity would be allowed near the site until several legal cases on the subject were settled.
Hindu nationalists have vowed to build a temple despite the court ban on the site near where they destroyed the ancient mosque in 1992.
More than 15,000 policemen are deployed across the Ayodhya town amid fears that Hindus would try to enter the city on Friday despite the court ruling.
Hindus plan to install the stones and pillars that would be used to construct the temple on a site they claim to be the birthplace of their Lord, Ram.
The 9-year-old dispute between Hindu and Muslims sparked bloodiest religious clashes last month that left more than 700 people dead. The rioting was ignited after suspected Muslim mob set on fire a train carrying Hindus from Ayodhya.
New Delhi said it would implement the Supreme Court order and restrain its ally World Hindu Council from offering prayers at Ayodhya.
"The verdict is very clear," Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh said. "The government is committed to upholding it. There is no ambiguity."
Uttar Pradesh state Gov. Vishnu Kant Shastri said anyone violating the court order would be arrested.
Several Muslim leaders welcomed the Supreme Court ruling.
Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari, while terming the court verdict as "the first victory of justice," expressed the hope that other cases pending on Babri Mosque issue will be resolved through the court.
Earlier, Muslim families had fled Ayodhya city where Hindus have begun gathering to construct a temple on the ruins of a destroyed mosque.
Muslims, who comprise just 10 percent of Ayodhya city's more than 300,000 people, have moved temporarily to other cities to avoid any confrontation with the Hindu fundamentalists, who have vowed to build the temple from Friday despite a court ban.
Violent mobs of Hindus tore down the 16th-century Babri mosque in 1992 saying that was Ram's birthplace and they would construct a temple on the ruins. Supreme Court will decide on Wednesday the ownership dispute over the site between Hindus and Muslims.
Lawmakers from opposition parties are urging that the army might need to be deployed ahead of Friday to stop Hindus from constructing the temple.
Hindus comprise 82 percent of India's more than 1 billion people. But its Muslim population is second-largest in the world after Indonesia.
