Learn to expand your brain to understand art: DAG to complainant who said MF Husain paintings insulted gods
While the complainant argued that gods “have been shown holding nude women” in M F Husain paintings, the lawyer for Delhi-based DAG said “there are misleading facts in the complaint”.
3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Apr 5, 2025 04:34 AM IST
n January this year, while Judicial Magistrate First Class Sahil Monga of Patiala House Court refused to order an FIR against DAG, he ordered a seizure of the "offensive" paintings. (Express File Photo/Representative)
Addressing a city court on Friday, an art gallery in Delhi said the concern of one person who objected to two “offensive” paintings by M F Husain displayed during an exhibition last year “can’t be seen as the concerns of the whole community”.
The person in question, Amita Sachdeva, had sought an FIR under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) against DAG, which was formerly known as Delhi Art Gallery.
In January, a magistrate order had refused to direct an FIR. Advocate Makarand D Adkar, who represented the complainant, moved the Court of Additional Sessions Judge Sumit Dass of Patiala House against this order.
On Friday, Adkar said Hindu Gods were insulted, who had approached the court seeking an FIR against DAG over the “offensive” M F Husain paintings.
To which DAG’s counsel said before the court, “The sketches were there for 30 days during the exhibition. Thousands of people saw the painting. No one except the complainant (Sachdeva) objected. Their concerns can’t be seen as the concerns of the whole community.”
“You need to expand your brain a little to understand art,” he added.
Referring to various judgments, Adkar then said a case of Section 299 under the BNS was made out. “Our gods have been insulted… They have been shown holding nude women. The complainant is the eyewitness, she took photos,” Adkar argued.
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“Husain had earlier also made nude goddesses. There were multiple complaints against him… There was not even an apology. This is not the way to deal with Sanatan Dharma,” he said.
To this, Judge Dass asked, “Is there any sort of censorship that applies within the confines of an art gallery?”
Adkar replied, “Law imposes a self-censorship… Any obscene painting can be made and put in my bag. But the moment it leaves my bag, it becomes public. That’s where the problem lies… I’m saying just spare my gods (Hindu gods)”.
DAG’s counsel argued that “there are misleading facts in the complaint… Husain died with a clean slate”.
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Adkar said: “Can we perceive that a person who put the painting up on the wall didn’t know the implications?”
Judge Dass then posted the matter for April 21, when arguments on the aspect of filing an FIR will continue.
In January this year, while Judicial Magistrate First Class Sahil Monga of Patiala House Court refused to order an FIR against DAG, he ordered the seizure of the “offensive” paintings.
Sachdeva is an advocate who practises at Delhi High Court. She had earlier said, “On 04.12.2024, I clicked photos of offensive paintings displayed at DAG World at 22A, Windsor Place, Connaught Place, New Delhi, and filed a complaint on 09.12.2024 at Parliament Street police station after researching past FIRs against M F Husain. However, during a visit with the IO on 10.12.2024, the paintings were removed and falsely claimed they were never displayed.”
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DAG, which was established in 1993, houses the most extensive collection of premodern and modern Indian art from the 18th century to the 20th century.
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
Professional Background
Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.
Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.
Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts.
Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.
Recent notable articles
In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.
1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.
2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.
3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.
Signature Style
Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.
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