Archive image of artist M.F. Husain.
| Photo Credit: K. Gajendran
25 rare paintings of late Indian modernist painter M.F. Husain, secured by NAFED as part of the proceeds of an alleged loan default case, will be auctioned on June 12 pursuant to a nod from the Bombay High Court.The auction titled, ‘M.F. Husain: An Artist’s Vision of the XX Century’, includes 25 canvases painted as part of Mr. Husain’s Our Planet Called Earth (OPCE) series.In its February 17 order, a single Bench of Justice R.I. Chagla permitted the Sheriff of Mumbai to auction the 25 paintings, secured by the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) in connection with the ₹236 crore loan dispute with industrialist Guru Swarup Srivastava’s Swarup Group of Industries.Mr. Srivastava came into limelight in 2007 when he commissioned 100 paintings of Mr. Husain at ₹1 crore each.In May last year, art specialist Dadiba Pundole submitted to the High Court the valuation report of the paintings, as per which they were valued at ₹25 crore.Pursuant to the High Court order, the Sheriff of Mumbai in February issued an auction notice for the paintings through Pundole Art Gallery.The auction is scheduled on June 12 at the Hamilton House in south Mumbai.After the auction is complete, the Sheriff of Mumbai has been directed to file a report to the High Court by July 3 and obtain final directions for handover of the works.In 2006, the CBI initiated a probe into the Swarup Group and against Mr. Srivastava for alleged misappropriation of ₹150 crore from the ₹236 crore loans from NAFED.A tribunal in December 2008 permitted NAFED to secure assets of ₹100 crore, including the Husain paintings. Published – June 02, 2025 04:23 pm IST