Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty has been formally cleared of obscenity charges dating from when Hollywood star Richard Gere publicly kissed her on the cheek at an AIDS awareness event 15 years ago. The incident triggered a local firestorm at the time, with Hindu right-wing groups burning effigies of both the celebrities to protest the perceived insult to Indian values.
A judge soon afterwards issued arrest warrants, with both accused of various counts of obscenity and indecency. The charges against Gere were quickly shelved, allowing the actor – one of the world’s best-known Buddhists – to return to India in 2010 for a meeting with Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
But the case against Shilpa languished in India’s slow-moving legal system for more than a decade until it was finally discharged in Mumbai recently. In a court order made public recently, a judge said the charges against the actress were “groundless” and that she had been subject to an unwanted amorous advance from the Hollywood A-lister.
“It seems that… Shilpa Shetty is the victim of alleged act of accused No. 1 (Richard Gere),” the order said. Shipa's lawyer said the entire case rested on the fact that “she did not protest when she was kissed by the co-accused”. “This by no stretch of imagination makes her a conspirator or perpetrator of any crime,” the lawyer added.
