Court clears Richard Gere 16 years after he kissed Shilpa Shetty
An Indian court has now dismissed a case filed against a magistrate’s order in which Shilpa Shetty was discharged. Shetty had been embroiled in a 2007 obscenity trial because actor Richard Gere kissed her several times during an AIDS awareness public event in Mumbai, India.
After the event, many Hindus protested against Gere’s actions because they went against Indian values. Gere responded by apologising and saying that he had tried to show that kissing does not cause HIV transmission.
In January last year, the obscenity charge against Shetty was dismissed, noting that the charges against Shetty were “groundless”, with her being unwittingly advanced on by Gere. However, a revised prosecution against Gere and Shetty remained, with it claiming that the magistrate had “erred in discharging the accused” and the order had been “illegal, bad in law and against the principle of natural justice”.
Now, that prosecution has also been dismissed, and Shetty and Gere have been cleared of wrongdoing. The court said, “A woman being groped on the street or touched on a public way or in public transport cannot be termed as accused or participative to the extent of mental culpability, and she cannot be held for illegal omission to make her liable for prosecution.”
It added, “Having considered the material placed on record and the police papers, there is no material to frame charges against the accused.” The prosecution had originally claimed that Shetty and Gere should have been charged under IPC Section 292 for obscenity, provisions of the Information Technology Act, and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.
Shetty was being represented by Prashant Patil, who made a case against the plea and the consideration of the court order being a “proper and legal one.” The material presented during the case concluded, “The magistrate’s order does not require any interference at the hands of this court,” meaning that the magistrate had correctly assessed the case in the first place.
Richard Gere is known for his film role in movies such as American Gigolo, An Officer and a Gentleman, Pretty Woman, Primal Fear and Runaway Bride and became a sex symbol in the latter part of the 20th Century. Shilpa Shetty is also a film star, although she predominantly performs in Indian Hindi movies, including Baazigar, Main Khiladi Tu Anari and Dhadkan.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.