Only 3 cases are pending against Husain

February 26, 2010 03:07 am | Updated November 17, 2021 07:15 am IST - NEW DELHI

Only three cases are now pending in a lower court in Delhi against eminent artist M.F. Husain relating to complaints against his nude paintings of Hindu goddesses and the Bharat Mata.

Though several cases were reportedly filed against Mr. Husain, only seven registered in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi came to light through the media as the courts had summoned Mr. Husain. Of the seven cases, four were quashed by the Delhi High Court in May 2008 by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul.

While dismissing the criminal complaints, the judge said: “A painter has his own perspective of looking at things and it cannot be the basis of initiating criminal proceedings against him. In India, a new puritanism is being carried out in the name of cultural purity and a host of ignorant people are vandalising art and pushing us towards the pre-renaissance era. A painter at 90 deserves to be sitting at his home and painting his canvas [rather than living in exile].”

The Supreme Court in September dismissed appeals filed against this order and upheld the quashing of proceedings against Mr. Husain.

Prosecution refused

While refusing to allow the prosecution against the painter on obscenity charges, Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan had observed: “There are so many such subjects, photographs and publications. Will you [complainant] file cases against all of them?” It is art. If you don’t want to see it, then don’t see it. There are so many such art forms in the [Hindu] temple structures.”

The Supreme Court had also rejected the complainant’s argument that the painter be summoned before the court to explain his paintings.

The remaining three cases are pending in the Patiala House court.

Of the three, one pertained to a complaint filed in Delhi in 2006 in which investigation is still pending.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.