New Delhi: The Union Government on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it was for consensus on erecting a temporary bulletproof steel structure around the "Ram Lalla" idol in Ayodhya to thwart any attack.

In an application filed in May, the Home Ministry said there were intelligence inputs that warned of possible attacks on some important Hindu temples, including the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid complex in Ayodhya, and sought the court's permission to put up the steel structure.

Several Muslim organisations protested against such construction, contending that it would violate the status quo orders of the court.

Additional Solicitor-General Gopal Subramaniam told a three-Judge Bench, comprising Justices K.G. Balakrishnan, G.P. Mathur and R.V. Raveendran, "We are trying to evolve some mutual consensus with the parties, so that the entire area can be protected. We are speaking to the Uttar Pradesh Government and the process had begun. We need some more time to arrive at a consensus."

The Bench agreed and adjourned the proceedings by six weeks.

The Home Ministry said in the application that to protect the disputed structure from any terrorist attack, a temporary air-conditioned bulletproof structure of 11 ft x 11 ft with a height of 7.5 ft must be constructed.

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