Indian tax authorities are hoping for a windfall with the auction of rare oil paintings that were once part of fugitive billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi's collection.
Auctioneers say the sale is the first of its kind in a country where tax authorities have auctioned property, gold and luxury items, but not art.
Tax authorities, who are pursuing Modi over the country's largest bank fraud, appointed auction house Saffronart to sell about 68 works expected to fetch between 300 million and 500 million rupees ($A6.1 million and $A10.1 million).
"Until a few years ago, the tax authorities really didn't know the value of art," said Farah Siddiqui, an art adviser who is advising clients eyeing Modi's collection.
The 48-year-old Modi, whose diamonds have sparkled on Hollywood stars, is one of the prime accused in a $A2.8 billion loan fraud at state-run Punjab National Bank.
Modi denies the charges and believes they are politically motivated.
The auction comes just weeks before a national election and as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces pressure to bring back Nirav Modi (no relation), who fled the country last year and has been residing in the United Kingdom.
He was arrested last week by British authorities and remanded in custody after he appeared before a London court. India asked Britain last August to extradite Modi.
The auction includes works by Raja Ravi Varma, a 19th century painter considered among India's finest, and VS Gaitonde, a modern artist known for his abstract and often monochromatic paintings.
"We believe that the collection's intrinsic value will garner a positive response from collectors," said Saffronart chief executive Dinesh Vazirani.
India Law Alliance, a law firm representing the company controlled by Modi that owns the artwork, said it was challenging the court order that allowed the auction.
The case will be heard by the Bombay High Court on Wednesday, a lawyer at the firm told Reuters.
Vijay Aggarwal, a lawyer for Modi, declined to comment.
Australian Associated Press
