A four-member team of the Archaeological Survey of India surveyed Sambhal’s Shahi Jama Masjid on Thursday before it starts painting and whitewashing the outer walls of the shrine, following a directive from Allahabad High Court that set aside the ASI’s claim that no such action was needed.

The high court had on Wednesday directed the ASI to survey the mosque in a week. Mosque committee counsel Zafar Ali told reporters that an ASI team from Meerut visited the mosque.

“They will prepare a report and submit it to their seniors. We are told that painting will start after they get clearance from their office. They will also do the lighting work because it is the month of Ramzan,” Ali said.

“We are fully cooperating with the team and there are no issues. The painting work will begin soon. They have taken the measurements and the work will commence after approval,” he said.

The mosque committee will oversee the painting work under the ASI’s protection and guidelines.

Despite opposition from the ASI, the single-judge bench of Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal had ordered it to start whitewashing and painting the outer walls of the structure. 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. Such work is done annually at the mosque before Eid.

“The ASI shall undertake the whitewashing work and complete it within a week from today (Thursday). No extra lights shall be put on the walls as it may cause damage to the monument, but exterior lights in the shape of focus lights/ LEDs may be used by the ASI for lights in the outer area of the alleged masjid,” the high court had ordered on Wednesday.

It said that the expenditure incurred in the job shall be borne by the mosque committee and the cost shall be reimbursed within a week of completing the work.

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.

Responding to the ASI’s disinterest in whitewashing the mosque, the court had sought a follow-up reply from it and observed in its order: “This court finds that no suitable reply has been given by the ASI for denying to proceed to whitewash the exterior part of the alleged masjid during the holy month of Ramzan. This court directs the ASI to carry out the whitewashing work in all those parts of the monuments in which flaking is seen and whitewashing is required.”