A Delhi Court Orders Seizure of MF Husain’s Two Offensive Paintings On Hindu Deities.

The Patiala House Court has ordered the seizure of M.F. Hussain’s objectionable paintings of Hindu deities at the Delhi Art Gallery.

Upendra Bharati | HENB | New Delhi | Jan 22, 2025:: A Delhi court has ordered the seizure of two M.F. Husain paintings displayed at the Delhi Art Gallery, following a complaint from a high court advocate who deemed them offensive. This decision was made by Judicial Magistrate First Class Sahil Monga of the Patiala House Court, who directed the Investigating Officer to seize the paintings and submit a report by January 22, 2025.

“At this stage, an application U/s 94 BNSS (summons to produce document or other thing) has been moved by the complainant for direction to the IO (Investigating Officer) to seize the painting in question. In light of the facts and circumstances mentioned in the said application, the said application is allowed and the IO is directed to seize the said painting and file a report on 22.01.2025,” said Judicial Magistrate First Class Sahil Monga of the Patiala House Court in his order on Monday.The current controversy on Husain’s painting in an exhibition in Delhi Art Gallery cropped in when Delhi High Court Advocate Amita Sachdeva filed a petition in the court of law.

“On 04.12.2024, I clicked photos of offensive paintings displayed at @DAGworld at 22A, Windsor Place, Connaught Place, New Delhi, and filed a complaint on 09.12.2024 at Parliament Street PS after researching past FIRs against MF Husain. However, during a visit with the IO on 10.12.2024, the paintings were removed and falsely claimed they were never displayed,” Advocate Sachdeva said in a post on X.

The paintings of Hindu deities Hanuman and Ganesh were posted on Sachdeva’s X account.

“On 04.12.2024, I clicked photos of offensive paintings displayed at DAG World at 22A, Windsor Place, Connaught Place, New Delhi, and filed a complaint on 09.12.2024 at Parliament Street police station after researching past FIRs against M F Husain. However, during a visit with the IO on 10.12.2024, the paintings were removed and falsely claimed they were never displayed,” Sachdeva said.

In his order, Judge Monga said, “As per the ATR, the IO has already seized CCTV footage and the NVR (Network Video Recorder) of Delhi Art Gallery. It is further 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 in the inquiry report that the exhibition was held in a private space and the said paintings were only to display the original work of authors/artists.”

Last month, Sachdeva also asked the court to preserve the CCTV footage from the art gallery for December 4 and December 6-10 when the exhibition displayed Husain’s paintings.

Pic provided by Adv Amita Sachdeva

On January 4, Judge Monga said that a report had been filed by the investigating officer stating that the CCTV footage from the said dates had been preserved and filed along with the report.

In a statement Tuesday, the DAG said: “Pending an enquiry into a few select works of M F Husain at a recent exhibition, DAG is reviewing the situation and seeking counsel. We are not party to any court proceedings so far, and are trying to follow the developments. We will come back to you as soon as we have an update on the issues at hand.”

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time M.F. Husain’s work has sparked controversy. In 2008, the Delhi High Court dismissed a case against Husain, ruling that his paintings, which depicted Hindu deities in the nude, did not intentionally hurt religious sentiments. The court emphasized the importance of artistic freedom and the subjective nature of art, setting a precedent for future cases involving artistic expression and cultural sensitivities. Then the ultra secular Judiciary did not mind the Hindu sentiments in the name of freedom of expression.

Notably, MF Husain’s work did not include any depictions deemed offensive to Islam or Christianity, raising questions about the selective nature of his artistic expressions.

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__Inputs from Indian Express & Sanatan Prabhat.