SC stays warrant against MF Husain

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a bailable warrant against painter MF Husain issued by a Maharashtra court on April 21.

The state court had issued the warrant on the basis of a complaint which accused Husain of outraging religious sentiments with his paintings.

A Bench of Justice B N Agrawal and Justice P P Naolekar restrained the trial court from conducting further proceedings in the matter.

The Bench ordered that Husain's petition for transferring the case from Pandharpur in Maharashtra to Delhi be tagged along with two other such petitions filed by him which were already pending before the apex court.

Earlier, the court had on April 10 stayed a bailable warrant issued against him by an Indore court and stayed proceedings in another case pending in a Rajkot court.

Senior lawyer Harish Salve mentioned the transfer petition before the court and sought stay on the bailable warrant.

Earlier, Salve had told the court that the painting was a private painting and was put up for auction on the Internet by somebody who named it Bharat Mata.