In an interim relief to an art enthusiast, the Bombay High Court has restrained the Customs department from destroying artworks by renowned artists FN Souza and Akbar Padamsee that were seized last year on the grounds of being “obscene material”.
The bench of Justices MS Sonak and Jitendra Jain noted that the artworks had been confiscated pursuant to an order passed by an assistant commissioner of Customs on July 1, 2024.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by BK Polimex India Pvt Ltd., a company owned by Mumbai-based businessman and art collector Mustafa Karachiwala.
The petition claimed that in 2022, Karachiwala had booked three paintings of Padamsee’s work and Souza’s “lovers” for Rs 8,33,365 at an auction in London and had shipped them to Mumbai while declaring that they contained “nude drawings”.
However, the customs officials at the airport’s special cargo Commissionerate seized all the seven paintings that were on the consignment.
The petition says the Assistant Commissioner of Customs seized the artworks in an arbitrary manner and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on his firm.
Advocates Shreyas Shrivastava and Shraddha Swarup, representing the petitioner, argued that the seizure was arbitrary, illegal, and in violation of the constitutional rights protecting artistic expression. “On what basis the Customs department came to the conclusion that the artworks are obscene”, they asked.
“The subject work of art is a national treasure of modern art which needs to be given its due recognition. However, the Customs officials failed to understand the significance of art and failed to differentiate between art and obscenity. Every nude drawing or painting does not fall under the ambit of obscene material”, the advocates argued. The petition sought the confiscation order to be quashed and to allow the artworks to be released.
The advocates maintained that the seized artworks are by renowned artists FN Souza and Akbar Padamsee, who have been honoured with accolades for their work by the Indian government.
The recognition of the artists’ work should not be overshadowed by misplaced perceptions of obscenity as the artworks hold national and cultural value, they argued.
The High Court has reserved its order on the plea of the company that seeks release of the seven paintings as “they are on paper and likely to get damaged due to varying weather conditions”, stated the plea.
