Court orders attaching of M.F. Hussain’s property

By IANS

Mumbai : Celebrated and controversial painter M.F. Hussain is headed for another round of trouble over his paintings. A court has ordered police to attach his properties here after he repeatedly failed to appear before it over a case pertaining to two paintings alleged to be semi-nude and as offending religious sensibilities.


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A court in Haridwar asked Mumbai Police to attach his properties after it declared him a proclaimed offender in a case pertaining to his "Bharatmata" and "Krishna" paintings.

A lawyer, Arvind Srivastava, had filed a petition against him in 2005 and said that the paintings were semi-nude and hurt religious sentiments.

The order for attaching the properties came last month and Mumbai Police have been served with a copy of the order passed by the court of Special Judicial Magistrate K.S. Shukla in Haridwar after Hussain repeatedly failed to appear before the court.

On Sunday, the Mumbai Police pasted a notice on the door of his flat at Jolly Makers-III building in Cuffe Parade.

The police will also get in touch with the Mumbai Collector's office to find out if the artist has some more properties in Mumbai.

None of the family members are currently staying in the flat – and Hussain, 93, himself lives in a sort of exile shuttling between London and Dubai.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-I) Brajesh Singh confirmed to IANS that they had received a copy of the order and would proceed as per law. "We will do what the law says," he said.

Hussain, one of the highest-paid painters in the world, is a recipient of India's civilian awards Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan. He has also made feature films, like "Through the Eyes of a Painter" and "Gajagamini", the former winning the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival. Hussain has also written lyrics for two songs for the film "Meenaxi".

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