Cases against Husain will be dropped

Artist MF Husain, who passed away on Thursday in London, faced several legal cases during his lifetime. Most of them were filed by people who thought he had depicted deities in an obscene manner. With his demise, the cases would be dropped.

Artist MF Husain, who passed away on Thursday in London, faced several legal cases during his lifetime. Most of them were filed by people who thought he had depicted deities in an obscene manner. With his demise, the cases would be dropped.

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Counsel Nilesh Pawaskar, who was consulted by a Hindu group that wanted to file a case against Husain, said: "Following his death, the cases would be abated. The prosecution would have to file an application for that before the courts concerned."

If an accused dies before the case has been disposed of, the prosecution has to file a report showing proof of death and seek closure of the case.

There was a furore against Husain's paintings when the India Today magazine published an advertisement of his exhibition Art For Mission Kashmir that had a painting of Bharatmata (Mother India) in the nude with the names of states on her body.

Following this, four cases were filed - two in Madhya Pradesh, one in Maharashtra and one in Delhi.