NEW DELHI: M F Husain got relief when the Delhi High Court quashed the criminal proceedings initiated against the eminent artist for allegedly hurting public sentiments through some of his nudist paintings that were dubbed as obscene.

"The allegations made against the painter are baseless and it would not be proper to hold that he had a deliberate intention to manifestly insult Bharat Mata," Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said after observing that nudity is part of contemporary art.

Husain's nudist paintings of Bharat Mata Hindu as well as of Gods and Goddesses had created a furore resulting in several threats from right wing groups like VHP and Bajrang Dal after which he is living in self-imposed exile in Dubai.

"A painter at 90 deserves to be in his home--painting his canvas," the judge said quashing the proceedings in three cases against the 92-year-old painter.

The proceedings against the painter were initiated on the basis of complaints filed in Panderpur (Maharastra), Rajkot (Gujarat) and Indore(Madhya Pradesh) alleging that his paintings were obscene and hurt public sentiments.

Holding that beauty lies in the eyes of beholder so does the obscenity, the Court said the painting in question is just a piece of art in line with country's ancient art. "We have been called as land of Kama Sutra then why is it that in the land of Kama Sutra, we shy away from its very home.

Beauty lies in the eyes of beholder so does the obscenity," Justice Kaul said in his 74-page judgement. "Ancient art has never been devoid of eroticism where sex worship and graphical representation of the union between man and woman has been a recurring feature," he said.

"It's very unfortunate that the works of many artists who have tried to play around with nudity have come under scrutiny and have had to face the music."

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