The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to take up before February 21 the Centre's plea for hearing its application on the vacation of the apex court's order banning any kind of religious activity in the 77 acres of land in Ayodhya acquired by the government after the demolition of the Babri mosque in 1992. 

The government application sought vacation of the apex court's March 13, 2002 order, by which on the eve of the
controversial shiladaan (symbolic handing over of a temple pillar) ceremony organised by the VHP, the court had banned any 'kind of religious activity, including shiladaan', on the acquired undisputed land.

Seeking an early hearing of a petition filed by Mohammad Aslam alias Bhure on which the Supreme Court had passed the interim stay order, the government said as peace prevailed in the area, the ban order could be lifted.

The sense of urgency could have been imparted by the VHP's decision to organise a dharam sansad (religious gathering) on February 22 to chalk out plans for temple construction if the government failed to hand over the undisputed land to the outfit.

Solicitor General Kirit Rawal mentioned the matter before a bench comprising Chief Justice V N Khare, Justice S P Sinha and Justice A R Lakshamanan and requested the court to hear the government's plea at the earliest.

However, the court stuck to the February 21 date fixed earlier.

The Centre had moved the court on February four within hours of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's meeting with the Kanchi shankaracharya, who had last year played a crucial role in the Ayodhya issue by holding negotiations with the parties involved in the dispute.