The Allahabad High Court on Monday directed the Archeological Survey of India to file an affidavit explaining why it cannot permit whitewashing of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal, reported Live Law.

Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal also directed the Sambhal district magistrate to present the original agreement entered in 1927 between the administration and mosque committee about the site’s handover to the Archaeological Survey of India.

The High Court was hearing a plea by the mosque committee, which said it had sought permission only for whitewashing and lighting the outer side of the structure. According to the committee, the Archeological Survey of India had not responded to the request.

The structure has been at the centre of a controversy since November 26, when violence broke out in Sambhal after Muslim groups objected to a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid.

A trial court had ordered the survey as part of a lawsuit claiming that the mosque had been built in 1526 by Mughal ruler Babur on the site of a “centuries-old Shri Hari Har Temple dedicated to Lord Kalki”.

Five persons were killed in the clashes.

A total of 79 people have been apprehended so far in connection with the riots, with 46 of them having applied for bail – which has not yet been granted.

On February 28, the Archeological Survey of India told the High Court that the Shahi Jama Masjid was in good condition and does not need whitewashing before the commencement of the Islamic holy month of Ramzan.

This came in response to the court asking the government agency to assess if the structure required maintenance. In its eight-page order on February 27, the court had used the word “alleged” five times to describe the mosque.

The mosque management committee had objected to the archeological survey report and called it “incorrect”, stating that the structure needed whitewashing.

On Monday, the High Court asked the government agency to explain in the affidavit whether whitewashing the outer part of the mosque was necessary.

In its report, the Archeological Survey of India had stated that due to repair and renovation work undertaken by the mosque committee over the year, addition and “alteration” had been made to the historic structure, reported Live Law.

“The floor of the monument has been completely replaced by tiles and stones,” the report was quoted as having stated. “The interior of the mosque has been painted with thick layers of enamel paint of sharp colours like golden, red, green and yellow concealing the original surface of the monument.”

The government agency also told the court that “modern work” undertaken in the mosque premises needs to be identified by its conservation and science wing to “bring the monument into its original fabric”.

Also read: ‘Ayodhya happened, now Sambhal’s turn’: How a court order sparked a deadly dispute over a mosque