India's Supreme Court is due to rule on Thursday on whether religious activities can take place around a holy site disputed between Hindus and Muslims. The site, in the northern city of Ayodhya, houses the remains of a 16th Century mosque destroyed by a Hindu mob 10 years ago. Hardline Hindus say that the mosque was built on the ruins of a temple which marked the birthplace of the Hindu God Ram.

The destruction of the mosque on 6 December 1992 sparked off religious riots across India in which more than 2,000 people died.

Last year the Supreme Court had banned the use of land around the disputed site to calm tensions between Hindus and Muslims.

But now the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led federal government wants the ban lifted.

The BJP is under pressure from Hindu hardliners to hand over a part of the land to them so that they can begin work on building a Hindu temple.

Excavation

In a significant ruling on Wednesday, the Uttar Pradesh High Court ordered the excavation of the Ayodhya site to determine if a temple existed there.

But, the court said, no digging should take place on the core area, which now houses a makeshift Hindu temple.

It also said that the exercise should not disrupt Hindu devotees from praying at the site, which is now allowed at restricted times.

A leader of the right-wing Hindu organisation, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Vishnu Hari Dalmiya said the organisation did not have any problems with the court's decision.

Mr Dalmiya added that his colleagues had dug in the area and found the remnants of a temple and that the Archaeological Survey of India would also find these.

A former director general of the Archaeological Survey of India, MC Joshi, told the BBC the chances of finding the temple of the Hindu God Ram are not high.

"We will tell the court whatever we get after a month of excavations," he said.

Disprove

The court has ordered the ASI to begin excavating the site within a week to determine if a temple or any other structure existed there.

A senior Muslim leader, Zaffar Yab Jilani, who was associated with this case, said the order would help to disprove the theory that a temple existed on the site.

He said the VHP was claiming there had been an 84-pillared temple at the site. If the excavation did not find such a structure, the VHP's claim would be disproved.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the main opposition Congress party Jaipal Reddy said the court's verdict should be respected.

The court has asked for the excavation to be completed in a month and for a report of the findings submitted to it.

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Hindu hardliners want to build a temple in Ayodhya