The Archaeological Survey of India on Monday evening moved a fresh application before the special bench of the Allahabad high court seeking more time to carry out excavations at the site in Ayodhya where the Babri masjid once stood.

A plea in this regard was turned down on March 26. The court had, however, allowed the ASI to make a fresh request at the next sitting of the special bench on March 8 and Monday's application was in response to that.

The excavation team has gone around 17 feet deep in certain trenches. In all, 15 trenches have been dug.

A senior government official told rediff.com: "The latest trench to be taken up for digging on Friday was narrow [4X1 metres], since it fell along the steel-barricaded gangway meant for the Hindu devotees who queue up every day to offers prayers at the makeshift temple."

The exercise is being conducted to determine if a temple existed at the site where Mughal emperor Babar built his mosque in the 16^th century.