Mumbai Court acquits actress Shilpa Shetty of obscenity charges

Mumbai Metropolitan Magistrate Judge Ketki M Chavan in her order stated that the allegations against Shilpa Shetty were baseless and acquitted her in the case. Chavan further added that Shetty was a victim of the actions of Hollywood actor Gere, who is the main accused in the case.

Mumbai:TheMumbai Metropolitan Magistrate's Court on Tuesday acquitted actress Shilpa Shetty of the obscenity charges filed against her after Hollywood actor Richard Gere had publicly kissed her at a promotional event in Rajasthan in 2007.

Mumbai Metropolitan Magistrate Judge Ketki M Chavan in her order stated that the allegations against Shilpa Shetty were baseless and acquitted her in the case. Chavan further added that Shetty was a victim of the actions of Hollywood actor Gere, who is the main accused in the case. Moreover, the court held that no paper attached to the final report discloses the act of the present accused so as to bring her within the ambit of Section 34 of the IPC.

The police report and the documents submitted by the Magistrate in the case also stated that the allegations against Shetty were baseless. In the FIR, the accused have been booked under IPC Sections 292, 293, and 294 for obscenity as well as provisions of the Information Technology and Indecent Representation of Women Act in Rajasthan.

Shetty's plea to transfer the case to Mumbai was allowed by the Supreme Court in 2017 after which the complaint was transferred to the Metropolitan Magistrate at Ballard Pier in Mumbai. Shetty, through her lawyer Madhukar Dalvi, had stated in her not guilty plea that she had not resisted when Gere kissed her.

The petition also said that the articles imposed on her cannot be enforced against her. Her pleadings stated that the allegation against her is that she did not resist when co-accused Richard Gere kissed her which by no stretch of the imagination makes her an accomplice or perpetrator of the crime. After hearing both sides, the Magistrate allowed her discharge under Section 239 but the application under Section 245 was dismissed as there was no provision for discharge in summons tribal cases.

In April 2007, Richard Gere had come to Jaipur for an AIDS awareness programme, wherein Shilpa Shetty and Gere appeared as guests on the show. During the event, Shilpa reached the stage holding Richard's hand and started speaking.

Sometime later in the event, Gere allegedly kissed Shilpa Shetty on her hand and then forcefully grabbed her, further giving her a kiss on the cheek. Shilpa Shetty, who was herself taken aback by the sudden act, tried to handle the matter and played calm.

Richard's behaviour was followed by a huge backlash and he had to issue a public apology. Both Gere and Shilpa Shetty were accused of obscenity after the case and a court case was filed.