A Delhi court has rejected a plea for a police investigation into a complaint against the Delhi Art Gallery, which recently had two paintings by the late artist MF Husain seized.

The court's decision comes after it ordered the seizure of the paintings, which were deemed "offensive" for depicting Hindu deities in a certain manner.

The complainant, a lawyer named Amita Sachdeva, had alleged that the paintings hurt religious sentiments and had requested the court to direct the police to investigate the matter. The court has decided to move forward with the complaint filed by Advocate Amita Sachdeva, who claims that MF Husain's paintings hurt Hindu sentiments.

The court will now examine the accused to determine if there's sufficient ground to proceed with the case. This decision comes after Sachdeva alleged that the paintings, which depict Hindu deities alongside nude female figures, were offensive and disparaging to Hindu deities.

"This matter may be proceeded as a complaint case henceforth. Let notice be issued to proposed accused persons in terms of first proviso to Section 223 BNSS for 12.02.2025," the Court ordered. A Delhi court has dismissed an application seeking directions for registering a First Information Report (FIR) against the Delhi Art Gallery and its owner/director.

Judicial Magistrate First Class Sahil Monga noted that all relevant facts and circumstances are already known to the complainant, and that CCTV footage, a video recorder, and the controversial paintings by MF Husain have been seized. The court's decision comes after advocate Amita Sachdeva filed a plea alleging that the paintings were offensive and disparaged Hindu deities. The court had previously ordered the seizure of the paintings and directed the investigating officer to file a report.

"It is settled law that U/s. 175(3) BNSS, Magistrate has power to direct the police to register a case and investigate the matter, but this power is to be exercised judiciously and not in a mechanical manner. In the matters where the complainant has in his/her possession all the evidence required to prove his/her allegations, there should be no need to pass an order U/s. 175 (3) BNSS," the Court said.

Advocate Amita Sachdeva visited the Delhi Art Gallery with an investigation officer on December 10, only to find that the controversial MF Husain paintings were no longer on display.

She then petitioned the court to preserve the CCTV footage, which was filed along with the police report. According to the police action taken report, the paintings were exhibited in a private space as part of a show. Following a court directive, the paintings were seized. However, the police noted that they couldn't ascertain whether a cognizable offense had been.