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NEW DELHI - India's Supreme Court has suspended all legal proceedings against Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, who is facing obscenity charges for not resisting a public kiss by Hollywood star Richard Gere.
Shetty, winner of the British reality television show Celebrity Big Brother, made headlines last month when Gere twirled her in his arms, arched her over and kissed her several times on the cheek at an anti-AIDS show in New Delhi.
A lawyer filed a complaint in a lower court, describing the kiss as an obscene act under Indian laws.
The court, in the western desert state of Rajasthan, ordered the arrest of Gere, who had left India by then, and also asked Shetty to appear before the judge. Two similar cases were filed in other courts.
Shetty petitioned the Supreme Court yesterday to suspend legal proceedings and also asked for all cases against her to be transferred to Mumbai, where she lives.
While the court ordered a suspension, which stops police and other courts from taking action against her, it issued notices to all parties involved in the litigation asking them why all cases should not be moved to Mumbai.
"It is an unusual case," Anand Grover, Shetty's lawyer, said. "No case is made out... the allegation is that she did not resist."
He said a separate petition would be filed to prevent police from stopping her from traveling abroad.
Shetty shot into the limelight after she was bullied and insulted by some of her Big Brother housemates, triggering allegations of racial abuse. She went on to win the contest.
She has said the obscenity case was an act of harassment by people seeking publicity. Gere, too, has sought an end to what he has termed a media circus.
A devout Buddhist, Gere is involved with charities dealing with AIDS and orphans in India and often visits the country.
- REUTERS
