MF Hussain’s ‘obscenity’ case moved to Delhi

NEW DELHI: Self-exiled maverick artist Maqbool Fida Hussain has a reason to smile while in Dubai as the Supreme Court ordered on Wednesday that he would be tried for portraying Bharat Mata in nude at Delhi’s Patiala House court.

The 92-year-old barefoot painter had sought a transfer of his complaint trial from a Hardwar court to Delhi as he feared for his life in the holy city. A bench of justices BN Agrawal and PP Naolekar passed the order after MF’s counsel contended that there was a “grave security threat” to the painter.

Counsel said the atmosphere in Hardwar is hostile towards MF and it had worsened after the Bharatiya Janata Party government took over in the state.

Local lawyer Arvind Srivastava had lodged a complaint alleging that Hussain hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus by painting the goddess in nude. He also said it was a case of obscenity. The Hardwar court ordered attachment of MF’s properties in Mumbai. But the SC stayed MF’s trial. 

On the eve of the 60 birth anniversary of Indian independence, Hussain had said he was anxiously waiting for his homecoming. “Mujhe Bombay ki baarish yaad aati hai,” Hussain had told an interviewer. “I used to walk barefoot from Grant Road to Kala Ghoda in the rain,” Hussain said longing to reach the city of his love.