A court ruled on Thursday the site of a demolished mosque in India would be divided between Hindus and Muslims, in a ruling that could appease both groups in one of the country's most divisive cases.

The court in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh also ruled that Hindu idols could stay on the disputed land, lawyers added.

The demolition of the 16th century mosque by Hindu mobs in 1992 triggered some of India's worst riots that killed about 2,000 people. More than 200,000 police fanned out in India on Thursday to guard against any communal violence.   

If the ruling soothes tensions, it would be a boost for the the ruling Congress party, a left-of-centre group with secular roots, that does not want to upset either voter bloc. Major political parties had called for calm.

The verdict came only days before Sunday's opening of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi with the government wanting to project an image of stability and modernity to the world.

Times Now TV editor Arnab Goswami called it 'nobody's verdict, nobody's solution,' referring to the fact there was not one clear winner. There were no immediate reports of violence after the ruling.

'I appeal to everyone, including Muslims, to forget the past and come forward to take part in our national culture,' said Mohan Bhagwat, head of the hardline Hindu group RSS, which is closely linked to the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

The 2-1 majority verdict gave two thirds of the land to Hindus -- one third each to two Hindu groups -- and one third to Muslims.

'The majority of the bench has ruled that the place where Lord Rama (The Hindu God) is enthroned, that is the birthplace of Rama,' Ravi Shankar Prasad, lawyer for a Hindu petitioner, told reporters.   

Hindus wants to build a temple on the site. Muslims want the mosque rebuilt after it was demolished in 1992.

Some Muslims welcomed the judgement. 'The judgement can begin a process of reconciliation,' Kamal Farooqi, a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, said.   

Lawyers said they would appeal to the Supreme Court and a final decision could take years.   

Commentators say the verdict is unlikely to spark widespread riots that hit Mumbai and other cities in 1992. There is little electoral headway to be made in egging on religious riots in post-economic reform India.

But from the capital New Delhi to the financial hub Mumbai and towns of the northern Hindu 'cow belt' along the holy Ganges river, many Indians waited with apprehension on the verdict, some staying at home and stocking up with food ahead of the verdict.

'Everybody is very happy with the verdict. People were scared but now everything seems to be normal. People are now opening their shops,' said Ghulam Mohammad Sheik, social worker in Mumbai. -Reuters