A Delhi court on Tuesday initiated prosecution against former minister of state (MoS) for home affairs and Congress leader Bhanwar Jitendra Singh for criminal breach of trust for refusing to return a painting of renowned artist MF Husain after borrowing it from a parliamentarian in 2014.
₹22 lakh, was never returned, prompting a criminal breach of trust case nearly a decade later. (HT Archive)” title=”The painting, bought from Mumbai’s Sachi Gallery for ₹22 lakh, was never returned, prompting a criminal breach of trust case nearly a decade later. (HT Archive)” />Special Judge Jitendra Singh of Rouse Avenue Court was hearing a revision plea moved by the complainant, Rohit Singh Mahiyaria. He was challenging a March 21 order passed by a magistrate, dismissing his prayer to initiate a complaint case against Singh.
As a MoS under the UPA government, Singh held the portfolio of youth affairs and sports (independent) in addition to home affairs.
Mahiyaria, in his plea, claimed that Singh had an MF Husain painting valued at Rs. 1 crore, that he had borrowed from his mother, Dr. Prabha Thakur, a former parliamentarian, in April 2014.
His mother, he said, gave Singh the painting on the promise that he would return it after showing the painting to his wife, a connoisseur of MF Hussain’s art who wanted to buy a similar painting. Thakur had bought it from Mumbai’s Sachi Gallery for over ₹22 lakh.
However, after a few months, Singh failed to return the painting on various pretexts despite being asked to do so by Thakur and her son. In 2017, Singh told the complainant that he was unable to locate the painting.
In 2019, Mahiyaria and his mother served Singh with a legal notice, threatening action if the painting was not returned. However, the complainant said the notice remained unanswered.
A case was thereafter filed at Rouse Avenue Court and the process of pre-summoning evidence was carried out.
In a March 21 order this year, additional chief judicial magistrate Paras Dalal dismissed Mahiyaria’s plea to initiate a complaint case against Singh under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections pertaining to criminal breach of trust and cheating, noting that the matter was purely civil in nature and no offence was made out.
However, special judge Singh, in Tuesday’s order, noted that the magistrate erred in law and on facts in arriving at the conclusion that no offence was made out against Singh.
The court said that the record clearly demonstrated that the painting was entrusted to Singh in April 2014 only for a limited purpose, namely to show it to his wife and to consider its purchase.
“The entrustment was made in good faith and without any transfer of ownership. The subsequent conduct of Singh in failing to return the painting despite repeated oral and written requests, offering false assurances…reflects misappropriation of entrusted property,” the court observed, setting aside the magistrate’s order and initiating a complaint case in the matter.