Raja Ravi Varma’s ‘last’ painting caught in ugly ownership row

NEW DELHI : A rare Raja Ravi Varma painting — by some accounts his last work — is at the centre of a high-stakes legal battle with multiple ownership claims.The painting, ‘Kadambari’, by the 19th-century maestro, is at present in the possession of Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, which assured Delhi high court recently that it is only exhibiting the artefact, being a private museum, and is not going to sell it further.The piece of art, estimated to be worth well over Rs 100 crore, was originally in possession of a Delhi-based art collector, who moved HC alleging that he was “conned” by his close associates into handing it over to them and lost out on a work of immense emotional and cultural value to the country. The associates, he said, sold the painting.

‘Imminent risk of painting being transferred to gallery in Australia’

In his suit, art collector Mohinder Verma alleged that in 2021 he entrusted the masterpiece to individuals he considered trusted associates, as one of them was also a director in Verma’s company.

However, they first tricked him into accepting advance payment of Rs 3 crore in pounds sterling in London, then tipped off local police, resulting in him being jailed abroad.Taking advantage of his incarceration, the people he entrusted with the painting for safekeeping and restoration, with the explicit understanding that no further action could be taken without his express approval, sold the artwork through a web of intermediaries.

The suit claimed the painting ended up at a public auction conducted by Saffronart, where the work was acquired by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) for a substantial sum — all while the original owner remained entirely in the dark.Meanwhile, UK police dropped charges against Verma and he was acquitted. On returning to India, he lodged a complaint with Delhi Police against his associates, resulting in an FIR and a probe.

While hearing the suit, Justice Mini Pushkarna asked the parties to first pursue pre-litigation mediation. During the hearing, the defendants told court that Verma’s brother and sister-in-law should also be made party to the suit, as ownership of the painting was being claimed by them.HC agreed and said it is “of the view that the brother and sister-in-law of the plaintiff ought to be before this court”. It asked the duo to also appear before the mediation wing with the other parties.In his suit, Verma explained why he rushed to court, claiming he recently learned that the Queensland Art Gallery, in Brisbane, Australia, is establishing a dedicated section for the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma.“Several prominent art dealers informed the plaintiff that ‘Kadambari’ is intended for permanent display at this gallery, thereby resulting in its removal from India and beyond the territorial jurisdiction of this court. The plaintiff therefore states that there is an imminent risk of the painting being transferred to the Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane, Australia,” Verma said in his plea.Appearing for the art collector, advocate Giriraj Subramanium contended that those who profit from the commercialisation of art cannot distance themselves from the responsibility of verifying the title and urged the court to hold the intermediaries accountable.With Verma naming auction houses and market intermediaries as defendants in the suit, any decision by HC is likely to impact the longstanding “culture of informality” in the Indian art trade. The suit also highlights that auction houses and buyers must first verify the provenance of the artwork before going further.