A painting depicting India in the form of a nude woman with her hair flowing in the form of the Himalayas displayed her agony was not obscene as it did not appeal to prurient interest or tend to deprave or corrupt persons who are likely to read, see or hear the matter alleged to be obscene. The painting had artistic merit and was not intended to arouse sexual feelings. The artist's freedom of expression was protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India.

ORDER :- Prablo Picasso, a renowned artist said, "Art is never chaste. It ought to be forbidden to ignorant innocents, never allowed into contact with those not sufficiently prepared. Yes, art is dangerous. Where it is chaste, it is not art."

2. Art, to every artist, is a vehicle for personal expression. An aesthetic work of art has the vigour to connect to an individual sensory, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. With a 5000-year-old culture, Indian Art has been rich in its tapestry of ancient heritage right from the medieval times to the contemporary art adorned today with each painting having a story to narrate.

3. Ancient Indian art has been never devoid of eroticism where sex worship and graphical representation of the union between man and woman has been a recurring feature. The sculpture on the earliest temples of 'Mithuna' image or the erotic couple in hubaneshwar, Konark and Puri in Orissa (150-1250 AD); Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh (900-1050 AD); Limbojimata temple at Delmel, Mehsana (10th Century AD); Kupgallu Hill, Bellary, Madras; and Nilkantha temple at Sunak near Baroda to name a few. These and many other figures are taken as cult figures in which rituals to Kanya and Kumari worship for progeny gained deep roots in early century A. D. Even the very concept of 'Lingam' of the God Shiva resting in the centre of the Yoni, is in a way representation of the act of creation, the union of Prakriti and Purusua. The ultimate essence of a work of ancient Indian erotic art has been religious in character and can be enunciated as a state of heightened delight or ananda, the kind of bliss that can be experienced only by the spirit.

4. Today Indian art is confidently coming of age. Every form of stylistic expression in the visual arts, from naturalism to abstract expressionism derives its power from the artist's emotional connection to his perceptual reality. The Nude is contemporary art, a perennial art subject, considered to be the greatest challenges in art has still not lost its charm and focuses on how the human form has been re-interpreted by the emerging and influential artists today. The painbrush has become a powerful tool of expression as the pen is for some, and has thus occasionally come under the line of fire for having crossed the 'Lakshman Rekha' and for plunging into the forbidden, which is called 'obscene', 'vulgar', 'depraving', 'prurient' and 'immoral'. No doubt this form of art is a reflection of a very alluring concept of beauty and there is certainly something * more to it than pearly 'flesh' but what needs to be determined is which art falls under the latter category.

5. The present petitions seeking to challenge the summoning orders against the petitioner arise from such a contemporary painting celebrating nudity made by an accomplished painter/petitioner. The said painting depicts India in an abstract and graphical representation of a woman in nude with her hair flowing in the form of Himalayas displaying her agony. It is stated that the said painting was sold to a private collector in the year 2004 and that the petitioner did not deal with the same in any manner whatsoever after sale. Subsequently in the year 2006, the said painting entitled "Bharat Mata" was advertised as part of an on-line auction for charity for Kashmir earthquake victims organised by a non-governmental organisation with which the petitioner claims to have no involvement. It is stated that the petitioner at no point in time had given a title to the said painting. The advertisement of the said painting led to large scale protests for which the petitioner also had to tender an apology.

6. It is in this background that there were private complaints filed at various parts of the country being Pandharpur, Maharashtra; Rajkot, Gujarat; Indore and Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh alleging various offences against the petitioner on account of the aforesaid painting consequent whereto summons and warrants of arrest were issued against the pet