The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea challenging orders by lower courts that refused to direct a first information report against DAG, a Delhi-based art gallery, for displaying allegedly offensive paintings by late artist MF Husain.
The paintings featured Hindu deities Hanuman and Ganesha.
In August, a Delhi court had dismissed a petition seeking that an FIR be registered against the art gallery. In the following month, the Delhi High Court also dismissed a petition by lawyer Amita Sachdeva seeking that a case be filed, the Hindustan Times reported.
The High Court had said it was clear that Sachdeva was merely seeking the police’s assistance to “conduct a fishing and roving inquiry”, although all relevant facts and evidence were within her reach. The bench had said that she could present any such evidence during the inquiry conducted by the trial court under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, according to the Hindustan Times.
The provision requires a magistrate to examine the complainant and witnesses while taking cognisance of a complaint.
The High Court had refrained from ruling on the merits of the complainant’s contentions about the nature of the paintings, Live Law reported. It said that if the petition could substantiate her allegations, the law would take its course, and action would be taken against the accused persons.
The complainant had challenged the orders before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court’s dismissal of the plea on Friday was welcomed by the gallery.
“The dismissal at all four levels of the judiciary underscores the consistency and clarity of the courts’ view on this matter,” the gallery said in a statement. “We thank our judiciary for this commendable judgement and restoring faith in artistic freedom.”
The case
On January 20, a Delhi court ordered the seizure of two paintings by Husain that were displayed at DAG, formerly known as the Delhi Art Gallery, in the national capital’s Connaught Place.
The order was passed by Judicial Magistrate First Class Sahil Monga of the Patiala House Courts in response to a plea by Amita Sachdeva, the lawyer who later went on to approach the High Court and Supreme Court.
Sachdeva said that she had clicked photos of the paintings at DAG on December 4, 2024, and claimed that they were offensive. She filed a police complaint on December 9, 2024, after researching previous FIRs filed against Husain.
However, when she visited the gallery again on December 10, 2024, she found that the paintings had been removed. It was falsely claimed that the paintings were never displayed, Sachdeva alleged on social media on December 13, 2024.
Sachdeva said at the time that she had filed applications demanding that a case be filed and security camera footage for the period from December 4, 2024, to December 10, 2024, be preserved.
On January 23, Monga directed the complainant to proceed with the matter as a complaint case. This involves filing a formal complaint that may lead to judicial scrutiny and a potential inquiry.
Husain, a recipient of India’s second-highest civilian award Padma Vibhushan, died in 2011.
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