Allahabad High Court has directed the Archaeological Survey of India to whitewash and paint the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal within a week, setting aside the ASI's claim that no such action was needed.

The mosque management committee had alleged that the ASI didn’t inspect the areas on the mosque premises that needed whitewash and repair and mentioned only those spots in its report that were in good condition.

The single-judge bench of Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal on Wednesday ordered the ASI to whitewash and paint the outer wall of the mosque within a week. The court also permitted the installation of decorative lights outside the structure.

“We wanted to whitewash and paint the outer walls of the mosque as a routine annual work ahead of Ramzan. But the ASI had claimed that it was not a tradition. We are happy that the court has issued an order in our favour,” S.F.A. Naqvi, the counsel for the mosque committee, said on Wednesday.

While dealing with a petition filed by the mosque committee last month, the high court had directed the ASI to inspect the site and submit a report on whether the shrine needed whitewashing. In its primary report, the ASI had informed the court that there was no such requirement as the walls of the shrine already had a thick coat of paint.

Naqvi had submitted that the ASI had skipped the spots that were in a state of disrepair. “They (ASI) selectively surveyed the premises and their report was biased,” he had said.

The mosque found itself in the eye of a communal controversy when some Hindutva groups aligned with the ruling BJP moved a local court on November 19 last year claiming that it was built on the ruins of a Shiva temple destroyed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. They had also claimed that the remains of the temple still existed on the mosque premises and that the structure should be handed over to the Hindus.