Shetty Swept Up By Gere
India's Supreme Court kicked out a legal case that accused Richard Gere of obscene behaviour. Arrest warrants were issued for Gere following a public appearance with Bollywood superstar actor Shilpa Shetty, at which Gere was seen to embrace the actress and kiss her in what some say contravened India's obscenity laws. Gere's lawyer has had to appeal to the court to get the arrest warrants rescinded as it is intention to visit India on humanitarian grounds. Following the hearing Chief Justice of India, KG Balakrishnan, said "Richard Gere is free to enter the country. This is the end of the matter." The court concluded that such complaints against celebrities in their opinion were "frivolous" and filed for nothing other than to achieve "cheap publicity", KG Balakrishnan went on to say they "have brought a bad name to the country". The arrest warrants were issued by a court in the western state of Rajasthan ordering the arrest of Gere for sweeping Shetty into his arms during an Aids awareness event in New Delhi. The Rajastan court also demanded Shetty should appear in court over charges that she did not resist Gere's advances. Two other similar cases were filed.
Having initially felt the issue had been a row over nothing, Gere had issued an official apology stating he had not intended to cause any offence by his gesture.
The Bollywood actress involved in the row Shipla Shetty was controversially placed in the spotlight after her appearance in Celebrity Big Brother during her time in the Big Brother House she allegedly became the victim of racist bullying and insults on live TV.
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