Hussain paintings set to be auctioned following HC order
Mumbai: Following a Bombay high court order in February directing the Mumbai sheriff to proceed with an auction of over two dozen MF Hussain paintings, the sale is scheduled this month in Mumbai.
HC this year appointed Dadiba Pundole's art gallery to conduct the auction sale, said the sheriff's report.
The paintings—25 in all—were among those commissioned by industrialist Guru Swarup Srivastava of the Swarup Group of Industries and later attached in an alleged case of Rs 236 crore loan default. The sheriff's report also informed HC that these works were originally painted by Hussain at the Pundole Art Gallery premises in 2004 in Mumbai to document "the most significant moments in the history of the 20th century".
The auction will have works from 'Our Planet Called Earth' series. The highest expected price, estimated last May, is Rs 2.5 crore for a painting, the lowest, Rs 60 lakh.
The paintings include works called 'Charlie and Kid,' 'Horses in Jungle,' 'Gym Men,' 'Waiter,' 'Industrial Revolution,' and 'Chess.' Some of the canvases are very large (72 inches by 52 inches), HC said.
On Mar 4, 2025, a division bench of HC justices B P Colabawalla and FP Pooniwalla heard an appeal filed by the Swarup Group against a Feb 17 order of justice Riyaz Chagla which had permitted the auction to proceed.
The bench after hearing the Group's lawyers Mamta Sadh, Kainaz Irani, and Prasad Das, and advocate Shashipal Shankar for National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (Nafed) said it was "not inclined to entertain" the appeal and allowed Swarup Group to withdraw it.
In 2008, an arbitral tribunal had ordered the Swarup Group to pay Nafed Rs 104 crore. In 2010, Nafed petitioned HC as a claimant for executing the tribunal's order to recover the amount.
HC had in Sept 2010 issued a warrant of attachment of movable properties based on which the sheriff's office attached the 25 paintings.
HC directed the city police commissioner to provide 24-hour police protection at the place where the paintings are stored from 20 March 2025 until the completion of the auction process. The sheriff's office has to place a report to the high court on Jun 16.
The high court said the auction would be supervised by its officer.
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