Shilpa Shetty Discharged In The Obscenity Case Involving Richard Gere

Mumbai Court, Metropolitan Magistrate Court at Ballard Pier discharged Shilpa Shetty in an obscenity case from 2005. She was booked after Richard Gere, a popular Hollywood actor hugged and kissed her during an AIDS awareness event in Rajasthan.

After the incident, a complaint was filed before a Judicial Magistrate First Class in Mundawar, Rajasthan seeking registration of FIR against Shetty and Gere, which was allowed.

Actor, Shilpa Shetty had filed a case in the Supreme Court to transfer the case to Mumbai in 2017, the case came to be heard by the Metropolitan Magistrate at Ballard Pier.

Shilpa Shetty Obscenity Case

Shilpa Shetty and Richard Gere were accused under Sections 292 (Sale, etc., of obscene books), 293 (Sale, etc., of obscene objects to young person), 294 (Obscene acts and songs), 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, Section 67 of the IT Act and Sections 4 and 6 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act. 

Ketaki Chavan, the Metropolitan Magistrate was of the opinion that Shilpa Shetty seemed to have been a victim of the act by Gere, who is the main accused in the case.

"It seems that the accused Shilpa Shetty is the victim of the alleged act of accused no.1 (Richard Gere.) Not a single element of any of the alleged offence is being satisfied in the complained," said Ketaki Chavan Chavan.

The charges against Shilpa Shetty were considered to be groundless and hence she was discharged from the offences.

Shetty filed for discharge under Section 239 (discharge after considering police report and documents) and Section 245 (discharge after considering evidence) of the Code of Criminal Procedure through Advocate Madhukar Dalvi.

“Only that she did not protest when she was kissed by the co-accused Richard Gere which by no stretch of imagination made her a conspirator or perpetrator to the crime," said her application regarding the accusation against her.

The actor filed for discharge under Section 239 (discharge after considering police report and documents) and Section 245 (discharge after considering evidence) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

While the discharge was allowed under Section 239, but the one under 245 was rejected as the summons triable case had no provision for the discharge.

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