High Court quashes three cases against MF Husain

Fri, May 9 01:05 AM

Hoping that the order will "broaden the thinking of Indian society", the Delhi High Court on Thursday quashed three of the six cases pending against 90-year-old painter Maqbool Fida Husain, for allegedly hurting public sentiments through his paintings of Hindu Goddesses, which were termed obscene. "I am right does not necessarily imply you are wrong.

Our culture breeds tolerance both in thought and action. I have penned down this judgment with the hope that it is a prologue to broader thinking," said Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul while dismissing the cases pertaining to Rajkot (Gujarat), Indore (M.

P) and Pandharpur (Maharashtra). The court said that it stands unproved that Husain - living in a self-imposed exile in London and Dubai after a series of protests against his paintings - intentionally insulted Bharat mata or the Goddesses.

"It is clear from his interviews and reports placed on record. He has maintained that he actually celebrates nudity and considers it the purest form of expression," the court said.

The high court also pulled up the magisterial courts for taking cognizance of such "frivolous complaints" that adds to courts' pendency. The Bench also questioned the understanding of people who filed complaints against the eminent painter saying that they were not aware that there are many artists who embrace nudity as a part of contemporary art.

"It seems the complainants do not go to art galleries or have an interest in contemporary art,"the Court said.

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