The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday directed the Archaeological Survey of India to finish whitewashing the Shahi Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal within a week, Live Law reported.

Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal ordered the mosque committee to reimburse the government agency for the costs incurred within a week of the work being completed.

Agarwal also directed the Archaeological Survey of India to install lights on the outer portion of the structure, PTI reported.

He noted that the action had to be taken in accordance with the original agreement entered in 1927 between the district administration and the 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 that it had sought permission 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 High Court asking the government agency to assess if the structure required maintenance. In its eight-page order on February 27, the bench 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 directed the Archeological Survey of India to file an affidavit explaining why it cannot permit whitewashing of the mosque. Agarwal also directed the Sambhal district magistrate to present the original 1927 agreement.

During the hearing on Wednesday, the High Court pulled up advocate Manoj Kumar Singh, representing the Archeological Survey of India, for claiming that the mosque committee had been whitewashing the structure for years and had caused damage to its exterior walls, Live Law reported.

Questioning the inaction of the government agency, Agarwal asked Singh why the government agency had not intervened in the past knowing that the alleged damage was taking place.

The bench noted that the Archeological Survey of India was acting at the behest of the government.

“Where were you in 2010, and in 2020?” Live Law quoted Agarwal as saying. “It’s only in 2024-’25 that you’re taking action. You have stated that for several years, the mosque committee has been doing whitewashing. What have you done?”

He added: “You are acting at the behest of the government. We have repeatedly granted permission, yet you continue to fail in your duty.”

Agarwal also directed the advocate general to issue a notice to the mosque committee, stating that the 1927 agreement had been cancelled.

“All the obligations of the previous government now lie with the current government under this agreement,” he said. “The ASI [Archaeological Survey of India] must state that the mosque committee has violated the agreement… Both the ASI and state counsels are present in the court, and they have not served any notice stating that the mosque committee has violated the agreement.

The High Court listed the case for further hearing on April 8, The Times of India reported.

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