Court Deliberates on Jama Masjid's Whitewashing Dispute

The Allahabad High Court addressed a dispute regarding the whitewashing of the outer walls of the Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal. The mosque committee seeks permission for this work, contested by the ASI, which sees no current need for changes. The court requested the original 1927 agreement for clarity.

The Allahabad High Court is examining a dispute over the whitewashing of the Jama Masjid's outer walls in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh. The mosque committee's request for whitewashing and lighting, seemingly caught in a disagreement with the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), came under judicial scrutiny this Monday.

Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal demands the ASI specify the potential harm in altering the mosque's external appearance while noting the absence of an ASI response to the committee's proposal focused on the mosque's exterior.

Requiring more than verbal exchanges, Justice Agarwal has summoned the original 1927 agreement between the mosque committee and the administration for March 12, demanding clarity in the ongoing argument that has the ASI clearing the mosque's grounds of overgrown grass.

(With inputs from agencies.)