New Delhi, Jan 23 (PTI) Soon after a Delhi court refused to order an FIR against DAG for displaying two “obscene” paintings of M F Husain, the art gallery on Thursday said it intends to “pursue its own legal remedies against the complainant”.
The court on Thursday refused an FIR on a plea by complainant and advocate Amita Sachdeva alleging the paintings had hurt religious sentiments, and said no further probe was required.
Judicial magistrate first class Sahil Monga said all the facts and circumstances of the case were within the knowledge of the complainant, the CCTV footage of DAG (formerly Delhi Art Gallery), and the paintings in question have already been seized.
“No further investigation and collection of evidences is required on the part of investigating agency at this stage, as all the evidences are in the possession of complainant as well as on record,” said the court.
The art gallery issued a statement and “strongly opposed the complainant’s unfounded allegations”.
“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.
“…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,” the statement said.
The court in its order said that the matter could proceed as a complaint case and issued notice to Delhi Art Gallery Pvt. Ltd., its CEO and MD Ashish Anand, and Director Ashwani Anand for February 12.
The judge had on January 20 ordered the seizure of the paintings of Hindu deities Ganesh and Hanuman displayed at the DAG on the plea by Sachdeva.
The art gallery on Wednesday issued a statement responding to the charges and said that it had “complied with the due process and furnished all information as required by the police”.
“During the investigation into the complainant’s version of events, the CCTV recordings of the exhibition at DAG’s gallery and the artworks in question were readily submitted by DAG in immediate compliance with the police’s request.
“After a detailed investigation spanning over 40 days and after reviewing the evidence collected from DAG (including the artworks), the police reported to the Judicial Magistrate on 20 January 2025 that no cognisable offence has been found to be committed by DAG,” the statement had said.
In her argument on Wednesday, Sachdeva said the most revered entities of Sanatan Dharma — Hanuman and Ganesh — were insulted in Husain’s paintings.
“This is obscenity. Depicted most revered deities in obscene manner a deliberate and malicious insult. Husain may be the greatest artist in the world, but he has no right to insult my deities,” she argued.
The DAG further noted that not only the drawings “were acquired internationally in an auction and brought to India following due customs clearance”, during the course of the exhibition, the gallery received about 5,000 visitors and no other person raised any objection.
“During the course of the exhibition, the gallery received about 5,000 visitors including scholars, academicians, collectors, students and art enthusiasts as well as journalists, garnering positive reviews in the press as well as from the public.
“It is noteworthy that no other person among about 5,000 visitors at the gallery raised any objection to any of the artworks displayed in this exhibition,” it said.
The exhibition, titled ‘Husain: The Timeless Modernist’, opened in October 2024 and displayed a collection of nearly a hundred works that dealt with different phases of Husain’s artistic journey from the 1950s to the 2000s.
Husain, one of the most celebrated Indian modernists, faced social ostracism on accusation of obscene art. As his art was met with violent protests, the painter left the country in 2006 and died in exile in 2011.
Husain was conferred with the Padma Shri (1966), Padma Bhushan (1973) and Padma Vibhushan (1991) for his works.
This is not the first time Indian art has found itself in a courtroom.
In October last year, the Bombay High Court had ordered the Customs department to release works by F N Souza, co-founder of the Progressive Artists’ Group (PAG), and Akbar Padamsee that were seized in 2023 on the ground that they were “obscene material”.
“Every nude painting or every painting depicting some sexual intercourse poses cannot be styled as obscene,” the Bombay High Court had said.
The two artists had found themselves on the wrong side of the law earlier in their respective careers.
In 1954, Padamsee was arrested from his debut solo show at Mumbai’s Jehangir Art Gallery for his paintings ‘Lovers I’ and ‘Lovers II’ that showed a man and woman in the nude.
Twenty-five years later in 1979, a handwritten manuscript and 62 drawings by Souza, sent via airmail from the US to a publisher in India, were seized by the Delhi Customs department on charges of “obscenity”. The paintings and the airmail containing Souza’s drawings were subsequently released. PTI MAH MAH KVK KVK
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