BBC News, Delhi
Getty ImagesA court in the Indian capital, Delhi, ordered the confiscation of two “offensive” paintings by MF Hussain, one of India's most famous artists.
The court on Monday granted police permission to confiscate the artworks after a complaint was filed alleging that the paintings displayed in an art gallery depicting two Hindu deities “hurt religious sentiments.”
Hussain, who died in 2011 at the age of 95, often faced backlash over the depiction of naked Hindu deities in his paintings.
Delhi Art Gallery (DAG), which mounted the exhibition, said in a statement that it was “not a party to the legal proceedings and is seeking legal advice.”
The paintings were part of an exhibition titled “Hussein: The Eternal Modernist,” which is showing more than 100 works at DAG from October 26 to December 14.
The complainant's lawyer, Amita Sachdeva, said on Channel
On December 10, Ms. Sachdeva stated that she visited the exhibition with the investigating officer, only to discover that the paintings had been removed. She claimed that gallery officials confirmed that they had never displayed the paintings.
The BBC has contacted DAG for comment.
The images shared online by Ms. Sachdeva depict Hindu deities Ganesha and Hanuman along with nude female figures. She also alleged that Delhi Police failed to file a report.
She later petitioned the court to preserve CCTV footage from the gallery during the period the paintings were reportedly on display, according to media reports.
A judge at Delhi's Patiala House Courts said on Monday that police had accessed the footage and submitted their report. The judge added that according to the investigation, the exhibition was held in a private place and was only intended to display the artist's original work.
Getty ImagesThe art gallery said in a statement that it is “reviewing the situation” and “trying to follow developments.”
Maqbool Fida Hussain was one of India's greatest painters and was called the “Picasso of India” but his art often sparked controversy in the country. His works have been sold for millions of dollars.
His career was marked by controversy when he was accused of obscenity and condemned by orthodox Hindus for his depictions of nude goddesses.
In 2006, Hussain publicly apologized for his painting Mother India. It showed a naked woman kneeling on the ground to form the shape of an Indian map. He left the country that same year and lived in self-imposed exile in London until his death.
In 2008, the Supreme Court of India He refused to file a criminal case against HusseinSaying that his paintings were not obscene and that nudity was common in Indian iconography and history.
The court had subsequently rejected an appeal against the Supreme Court ruling that dropped criminal proceedings against Hussain in the cities of Bhopal, Indore and Rajkot, and condemned the emergence of “new militancy” in India.
The court also rejected calls to summon Hussein, who was in exile at the time, and ask him to explain his paintings, which were accused of insulting religious feelings and disturbing national integrity.
“There are a lot of such topics, pictures and posts. Are you going to file cases against all of them? What about the temple structures? Hussain's work is art. If you don't want to see it, don't see it. There are many such art forms in temple structures,” the Supreme Court said.
Many believe that there is a rising tide of anti-liberalism against artistic expression in India.
In October, the Bombay High Court Reprimanding the Customs Department To confiscate works of art by famous artists FN Souza and Akbar Padamsee on the grounds that they are “obscene material”.
The court ruled that not every nude or sexually explicit painting was considered obscene and ordered the release of seven confiscated artworks.
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