The Delhi High Court has dismissed criminal proceedings against MF Husain, overruling the charges of obscenity against his paintings.
The cases against him were filed in Indore, Rajkot and Pandharpur.
Some details from NDTV (May 8):
It was his Nude paintings of Hindu gods and goddesses as well as Bharat Mata that created a furor resulting in several threats from right wing Hindu groups like VHP, Shiv Sena, Bajrangdal and the Hindu Jan Jagriti Samiti.
Three other cases are still pending against the painter, so this is only a temporary relief.
Hussain, 92-year-old has been living virtually in exile in Dubai since 2006, following a series of threats and several court cases that were filed against him.
Cases were all transferred to Delhi late last year as per Supreme Court directive.
What the judge had to say, according to Hindustan Times: [Link]
Giving relief to the 93-year-old painter, who lives in self-imposed exile in London and Dubai, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said the allegations against the artist are baseless.
"A painter has his own perspective of looking at things and it cannot be the basis of initiating criminal proceedings against him," Kaul said in his 74-page judgement.
"In India, new puritanism is being carried out in the name of cultural purity and a host of ignorant people are vandalizing art and pushing us towards a pre-renaissance era," he observed.
