Mumbai court releases Shilpa Shetty in 2007 Richard Gere kissing case
Shilpa Shetty was involved in a 2007 obscenity case after Hollywood star Richard Gere kissed her at a public event. Now the 'Dhadkan' star got discharged from the 2007 obscenity case. Know more.
FollowRichard Gere and 'Life In A Metro' fame Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty were on stage for an AIDS Awareness event in 2007 when the Hollywood legend planted a kiss on the Bollywood actress' cheek. The gesture backfired as a case got registered by Bhupsinh against Shilpa Shetty and Richard Gere. The Metropolitan Court No 16 has now discharged Shilpa Shetty from the obscenity case.
In 2007, Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty were on stage for an AIDS Awareness event when the Hollywood legend planted a kiss on the Bollywood actress' cheek to propound the idea that a simple kiss cannot lead to the spread of HIV.
Following the 2007 incident, an offense got registered under the IT Act and Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act of the IPC since the complainant Bhupsinh had found Gere and Shetty's gesture obscene.
However, the gesture got reversed as a case got registered by Bhupsinh against Shilpa Shetty and Richard Gere at Alwar Police Station in Rajasthan. As per the latest reports, Metropolitan Court No 16 has discharged Shilpa Shetty from the obscenity case. According to the complaint, Shilpa Shetty was aware that the event was a public one, that it was being covered extensively by the media, and that it would be on TV, and yet when Gere decided to plant a kiss on her cheek, she did not resist becoming complicit to an obscene act.
Following the complaint in Alwar, Shilpa Shetty moved the Supreme Court to transfer the matter to Mumbai. The Metropolitan Court 16 discharged Shilpa Shetty in the case in the year 2021.
The state of Maharashtra filed an appeal against the discharge order against Shilpa Shetty. Shilpa got represented by advocate Prashant Patil. After many detailed arguments, the Honourable Court passed an order wherein Judge Smt SC Jadhav noted that there was nothing wrong in the order passed by Metropolitan Court No 16, discharging Shilpa Shetty from the obscenity case.
The court further reasoned that 'Nikamma' fame Bollywood diva Shilpa was actually a victim of Richard Gere's kissing with the judge stating, "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 extent of mental culpability and cannot be held for illegal omission to make her liable for prosecution."
