Court orders seizure of two ‘offensive’ paintings by MF Husain from Delhi Art Gallery

Maqbool Fida Husain

A court has ordered the seizure of two paintings by the late Padma Vibhushan recipient and celebrated artist MF Husain, depicting Hindu deities, displayed at Delhi Art Gallery. According to a Times of India report, the order by Judicial Magistrate First Class Sahil Monga followed a plea by advocate Amita Sachdeva, alleging the paintings were offensive and disparaged Hindu deities.

In an order on Monday, the court said: “An application under BNSS Section 94 (summons to produce documents or other items) was moved by the complainant for direction to the investigating officer to seize the painting in question. In light of the facts and circumstances mentioned, the application is allowed, and the IO is directed to seize the painting and file a report on January 22.”

“As per the action taken report, the IO already seized CCTV footage and the NVR (network video recorder) of Delhi Art Gallery. It is stated in the ATR that a list of paintings was provided by Delhi Art Gallery in which the paintings in question are mentioned at Serial No. 6 and 10. It is further stated that the exhibition was held in a private space, and the paintings were only to display the original work of authors/artists," said the court.

Sachdeva had approached the court in December last year for preserving the CCTV footage of December 4 and December 6–10 from the art gallery when the exhibition displayed Husain's paintings. The court on December 18 directed the production and preservation of the footage. On January 4, the court noted a report was filed by the IO, which mentioned that CCTV footage from the dates was preserved and filed along with the report.

Posting the paintings on her X account, the lawyer said: "On Dec 8, I clicked photos of offensive paintings and filed a complaint on Dec 9 at Parliament Street PS after researching past FIRs against M.F. Husain. However, during a visit with the IO on Dec 10, the paintings were removed and falsely claimed they were never displayed (sic)."

DAG issued a formal statement on January 22, stating that "the drawings in question were acquired internationally at a Christie's auction and brought to India following due customs clearance". Additionally, "given its implicit belief in artistic freedom, DAG denies any wrongdoing as alleged by the complainant who has publicly claimed to be principally driven by a religious agenda."

In another statement issued on January 23, DAG added: "The complainant’s application for registration of an FIR against DAG and its directors has been dismissed today by the Judicial Magistrate at Patiala House Court. It was observed by the Magistrate that she may pursue her remedy in a private complaint, meaning that her personal grievance need not merit the involvement of any State investigation agency.

"DAG strongly opposes the complainant’s unfounded allegations and shall call out her attempt to launch a malicious prosecution against DAG, when called upon by the court to do so. DAG also intends to pursue its own legal remedies against the complainant for the false and mala fide accusations made by her."