An Indian court said yesterday it would hand down on September 24 a much-awaited ruling on a disputed religious site that in 1992 triggered the worst sectarian violence in postpartition India.

A three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh will deliver its judgement on the decades-old fight for the ownership of the site of the Babri Mosque in the temple town ofAyodhya.

"Ilie judgement would be pronounced by the special bench on September 24," said a notice issued by the High Court registrar.

An official source told AFP the date for the ruling was disclosed to help the state administration to make security arrangements ahead of the decision, which risks inflaming tensions between Muslims and Hindus.

Fearing a repeat of the violence, the local government has sought 35,000 extra paramilitary police for security duty as the state prepares to deal with any fallout.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the ruling will be one of the top political challenges for his country.

"The way the country handles this — the aftermath — will have a profound impact on the evolution of our country," he was quoted as saying on Tuesday in The Hindu newspaper after a meeting with editors.

In 1992, the 16th-century Babri Mosque was razed by Hindu zealots who said it had been built on the ruins of a temple marking the birthplace of the Hindu warrior god, Ram.