The Mumbai Police has registered a case against artist T Venkanna and Abhay Maskara, the curatorial director of the Gallery Maskara exhibition centre, for displaying an allegedly objectionable painting of gods and goddesses, and not prohibiting entry of minors, the Hindustan Times reported.

Venkanna’s exhibit “The Human Theatre” was on display at the gallery in Colaba between September 11 and September 25.

The case was filed based on a complaint by a lawyer, the newspaper quoted the police as saying.

The complainant claimed that when he questioned the staff of the gallery about the painting titled “Union for Peace”, they locked themselves in separate rooms and avoided his questions. He filed the complaint after this.

Venkanna and Maskara were booked under sections of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to the sale of obscene books, sale of obscene objects to children and acts intended to outrage religious feelings, the newspaper quoted the police as saying.

Abhay Maskara shared with the Hindustan Times the artist’s statement, which said the painting had been misunderstood as having targeted religion.

“In this image, a woman stands as a protagonist against sexual violence,” Venkanna was quoted as saying in the statement. “The man below her, already dead, represents a criminal punished for his actions.”

It added: “This is not a religious allegory, but rather a symbolic vision of a woman taking matters into her own hands in a patriarchal society, where sexual crimes against women are too often ignored or go unpunished.”

As of Saturday, the website of the gallery said that the exhibit “contains erotic images of an artistic nature” and that “viewers are advised to use their discretion before entering the gallery”.

“All admission is strictly by invitation and as per the exclusive and sole discretion of the gallery,” it says. “All entry to the show is only for people above the age of 18. ID proof shall be required in case of doubt.”

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