A Delhi court has ordered the seizure of two M F Husain paintings displayed in the Delhi Art Gallery following a complaint from a high court advocate who called them offensive.
“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 complainant in this case is Delhi High Court advocate Amita Sachdeva.
“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,” she said in a post on X.
The paintings of Hindu deities Hanuman and Ganesh were posted on Sachdeva’s X account.
Complainant calls for preserving CCTV footage
“As per the ATR, the IO has already seized CCTV footage and the NVR 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,” Judge Monga further said in his order.
In December 2024, Sachdeva also approached the court for preserving the CCTV footage from the art gallery. She wanted CCTV footage of December 4 and December 6 to 10 in the art gallery when the exhibition displayed Husain’s paintings to be preserved.
On January 4, Judge Monga said in an order that a report had been filed by the investigating officer, Sub-Inspector Sudeep, stating that the CCTV footage from the said dates had been preserved and filed along with the report.
Established in 1993, the Delhi Art Gallery is home to the largest collection of premodern and modern Indian art spanning the 18th to 20th centuries.
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