Mumbai, Oct 25 (Reporter) In a major relief to art lovers and collectors, the Bombay High Court on Friday directed the Customs department to release within two weeks time the art works of renowned artists FN Souza and Akbar Padamsee which were confiscated by the central agency on the grounds of "nude artwork". A Division Bench consisting of Justices MS Sonak and Jitendra Jain passed an order during the hearing of a petition filed by a firm, BK Polimex India Pvt Ltd, owned by city-based businessman and art connoisseur Mustafa Karachiwala, against the customs department order. The court also quashed and set aside the department’s July 1, 2024, order that confiscated the artworks by labelling them under "obscene material". During the hearing, the petitioner had claimed that in 2022, Karachiwala had booked three paintings of Padamsee's work and Souza's "Lovers" for Rs 8,33,365 at an auction in London and had shipped them to Mumbai while declaring that they contained "nude drawings". However, the customs officials at the airport's special cargo Commissionerate seized all the seven paintings that were on the consignment. The petition says the Assistant Commissioner of Customs seized the artworks in an arbitrary manner and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on his firm. Advocates Shreyas Shrivastava and Shraddha Swarup, representing the petitioner, had argued that the seizure was arbitrary, illegal, and in violation of the constitutional rights protecting artistic expression. "On what basis did the Customs department come to the conclusion that the artworks are obscene," they asked. "The subject work of art is a national treasure of modern art which needs to be given its due recognition. However, the Customs officials failed to understand the significance of art and failed to differentiate between art and obscenity. Every nude drawing or painting does not fall under the ambit of obscene material," the advocates argued. The petition sought the confiscation order to be quashed and to allow the artworks to be released. After hearing both sides, the bench passed a detailed order. Akbar Padamsee (12 April 1928 – 6 January 2020) and Francis Newton Souza (12 April 1924 – 28 March 2002) have made significant contributions to Indian modern art, and their works continue to be celebrated and recognized...////...