The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a writ petition challenging the Allahabad high court's order to excavate the disputed site at Ayodhya to determine whether a temple stood there in ancient times.

When the petition filed by Naved Yar Khan came up for hearing, a bench comprising Justice S Rajendra Babu and Justice G P Mathur said, "We will not take up a writ petition against a high court order."

"You can file a special leave petition and seek the permission of the court to challenge the order," the bench said, referring to the objections raised by the registry on Khan's petition.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court, which is hearing the suits claiming ownership over 2.77 acres of disputed land at Ayodhya, had on March 5 directed the Archaeological Survey of India to excavate the site to ascertain whether a temple pre-dated the Babri Masjid.

Khan submitted that as a Muslim his fundamental rights were affected by this order. But the Supreme Court said no fundamental rights were involved in a matter being decided on the basis of the suits and told the petitioner to first cure the defects pointed out by the registry.

The petitioner sought a week's time to do the needful, which the court granted.

PTI