Fifteen years after Hollywood star and AIDS awareness campaigner Richard Gere created sensation by kissing her in public, a Mumbai court has discharged Shilpa Shetty in an obscenity case filed against her.
While clearing the actress of the charges against, Ballard Pier Court Metropolitan Magistrate Ketaki M Chavan observed in her order that after perusing the complaint lodged against her, she had found that Shilpa Shetty was the victim of the alleged act by Gere.
After going through the police report and documents presented to the court, the Magistrate held that the accusations against Shilpa Shetty was “groundless” and ordered her discharge from the case
“Not a single element of any of the alleged offence is being satisfied in the complaint. Moreover, none of the papers annexed with the final report discloses the act of the present accused so as to bring her within the purview of Section 34 of IPC (common intention),” the Magistrate observed in her order.
The controversial incident – in which Gere held a surprised Shetty in tight embrace arching over her and kissing her a couple of times in full public view at the AIDS awareness event --took place during a promotional event in Rajasthan in 2007.
In all three cases were filed against Shilpa in 2007 in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh for publicly kissing Gere.
The complaint filed before a Judicial Magistrate First Class in Mundawar, Rajasthan seeking registration of an FIR against Shilpa Shetty and Richard Gere, was allowed. The actress and Gere came to be booked under Sections 292, 293, 294 (obscenity) of the Indian Penal Code, along with provisions of the Information Technology and Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.