The Allahabad High Court on Thursday rejected a petition seeking permission to offer namaz at the disputed site in Ayodhya and imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the petitioner saying the plea was filed for "cheap publicity".

Justices DK Arora and Alok Mathur of the Lucknow bench of the High Court passed the order while hearing a petition filed by Al-Rahman Trust, which had requested the court to give permission to offer namaz at the disputed Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi site.

The court directed the district magistrate of Faizabad to collect the fine if it is not deposited by the trust.