Shilpa Shetty cleared of obscenity charges over Richard Gere kiss case
Noted Indian actress and television personality Shilpa Shetty has been cleared of obscenity charges dating back to a 15-year-old incident at a charity event.
At an AIDS awareness event in 2007 in India, Hollywood star Richard Gere publicly kissed Shetty on the arm and on both cheeks while they were being videotaped on stage. The brief, if strange, moment provoked a fiery reaction in India, with radical Hindu groups taking umbrage with the public display of affection, and in particular criticising Shetty for not resisting.
At the time, a judge issued arrest warrants for both parties on charges including "indecency" and "obscenity". The case against Gere was swiftly dropped, and the actor, who is a Buddhist, was soon allowed to return to India.
Shetty's charges, however, languished in the court system until it was dismissed by a Mumbai judge this week, who called the case "groundless".
This interaction was not the first time Shetty had been accused of obscenity. In 2006, the actress also faced criticism for pictures printed in a newspaper of her and fellow actress Reema Sen.
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