Court rejects plea to dismiss cases against Husain

New Delhi : India's top court yesterday rejected a plea to dismiss criminal cases filed against the nation's most celebrated artist M.F. Husain over his controversial religious paintings.

The ruling came weeks after Husain announced that he had given up his Indian passport and accepted Qatari citizenship.

The plea for the dismissal of criminal cases against the 94-year-old artist who has been living in self-imposed exile for four years was filed by former Indian MP Bhim Singh.

Singh argued Husain's "fundamental rights" had been violated as the artist was unable to return to India due to the cases slapped against him for his allegedly blasphemous paintings of Hindu deities.

No power

But the court said it had no power to direct the government to withdraw the cases as they had been filed by individuals, the Press Trust of India reported.

The case involved 95 cases filed against Husain but a mountain of some 900 have been lodged against him by Hindu activists over the years.

Husain began living abroad in 2006 in Dubai and Doha when an ultra-nationalist Hindu group offered a reward of millions of dollars for his death after he painted a Hindu deity in the nude.

The prolific artist, who says nudity symbolises purity, has repeatedly insisted his art is not intended to offend.

Soul-searching

The painter, whose works have fetched more than a million dollars, said in early March he had no qualms about giving up his citizenship as India does not allow dual nationality.

"I'm an Indian-origin painter. I will remain so to my last breath," he said.

The decision by Husain to give up his passport has provoked a new round of soul-searching in India where secular democracy sometimes comes into conflict with easily stoked religious passions.

India's government has offered to provide security for Husain if he wishes to return to the country.