India won’t arrest Gere for kiss
India’s top court suspended an arrest warrant Friday against Hollywood star Richard Gere, wanted for allegedly breaking public obscenity laws by kissing Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty at a public AIDS awareness event last year, an attorney said.
“Gere is allowed to come and leave. He can’t be arrested,” said Anil Grover, attorney for Shetty, after attending the Supreme Court proceedings.
Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan and Justice R. V. Raveendran indefinitely stayed the arrest warrant issued against Gere last year by a court in the northwestern Indian city of Jaipur, Grover said.
Gere embraced and kissed Shetty on her cheek at the public AIDS awareness event in New Delhi on April 15 last year, prompting Hindu hard-liners to allege the pair had offended the sensibilities of India’s conservative culture. The actor subsequently apologized.
Most Indians have reacted with indifference to the controversy.
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