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Delhi Court refuses to order FIR against Art Gallery over MF Hussain’s paintings depicting Hindu deities with nude women, to proceed with complaint of hurting religious sentiments

The pencil sketches, not seen previously, depicts Lord Ganesha with a nude woman on his lap and Lord Hanuman carrying a nude woman on his hand and a nude man with his tail while flying.

The Patiala House Court on Wednesday declined to order the registration of an FIR against Delhi Art Gallery in response to a petition claiming that two paintings by the late artist MF Husain offended religious sentiments of Hindus. The two paintings displayed recently at the art gallery have already been seized by police.

However, the Court decided to proceed on the complaint filed by advocate Amita Sachdeva who had claimed that the paintings of Lord Ganesha and Lord Hanuman by MF Hussain hurt the sentiments of Hindus.

The Court will examine the accused persons to determine whether there is sufficient ground to proceed with the matter or not. While declining to order FIR, Judicial Magistrate First Class Sahil Monga noted that the complainant was already aware of all the facts and circumstances surrounding the case. Additionally, the CCTV footage from the Delhi Art Gallery and the disputed paintings had already been seized.

The judge further stated that, in its considered view, no additional investigation or evidence gathering was needed at this stage, as all pertinent evidence was already in the complainant’s possession and on record.

The court further added that in the present case, all the facts and circumstances of the case are within the knowledge of the complainant. CCTV footage of Delhi Art Gallery, NVR and the paintings in question have already been seized.

The court stated, “It is settled law that U/s. 175(3) BNSS, Magistrate has power to direct the police to register a case and investigate the matter, but this power is to be exercised judiciously and not in a mechanical manner. In the matters where the complainant has in his/her possession all the evidence required to prove his/her allegations, there should be no need to pass an order U/s. 175 (3) BNSS.”

Allowing the case to proceed on the complaint of hurting religious sentiments of Hindus, the court said, “This matter may be proceeded as a complaint case henceforth. Let notice be issued to proposed accused persons in terms of first proviso to section 223 BNSS for 12.02.2025.”

The Court on Wednesday reserved its decision on whether an FIR should be registered against the Delhi Art Gallery (DAG) and its Owner and director over the display of controversial paintings by renowned artist MF Husain. The petition was filed by advocate Amita Sachdeva stating that artworks depicted Hindu deities Hanuman and Ganesha holding nude female figures.

The controversy began when Complainant Amita Sachdeva, a practicing Advocate visited the Delhi Art Gallery in Connaught Place on December 4, 2024, and took photographs of the disputed paintings. The pencil sketches, not seen previously, depicts Lord Ganesha with a nude woman on his lap and Lord Hanuman carrying a nude woman onhis hand and a nude man with his tail while flying.

Following this, she filed a complaint with the Parliament Street Police Station on December 9, 2024, after researching past FIRs lodged against Husain for similar works. However, during a subsequent visit on December 10, 2024, with the investigating officer, the paintings were mysteriously removed and gallery officials claimed that they had never been on display.

She then approached the Court seeking directions for FIR against the art gallery and preservation of evidence. In response to Sachdeva’s petition, Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Sahil Monga reviewed the Action Taken Report (ATR) from the police, which included CCTV footage and a list of artworks provided by the gallery.

The Action Taken Report by the Police stated that the paintings in question were indeed displayed as part of an exhibition, however it was held in a private space. The report confirmed that the disputed paintings were listed under Serial Nos. 6 and 10 in the gallery’s inventory. It stated that the paintings displayed as original work of the artists.

Judge Monga then issued an order for the paintings to be seized, directing the investigating officer to file a report on the seizure by January 22, 2025. Accordingly, the two paintings were seized, as confirmed by the compliance report filed by the police. However, the police reportedly said that the commission of cognizable offence could not be ascertained.

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OpIndia Staff
OpIndia Staffhttps://www.opindia.com
Staff reporter at OpIndia

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