Daily Times

A Mumbai court decided in the 2007 obscenity case involving Bollywood superstar Shilpa Shetty and Hollywood actor Richard Gere that a woman being groped on the street or in a public place cannot be considered “participative” in such instances and cannot be charged for failing to intervene.

A court case was filed after Gere kissing Shetty on the cheeks when the two had appeared on stage together at a public event. Last week, the court upheld a magistrate court’s order discharging the Bollywood actress saying that the respondent (Shetty) had not kissed but was kissed and obscenity on her part is not evident, as reported by PTI. The detailed order was made available on Tuesday.

The court, after hearing both the sides, on April 3 said, “A woman being groped on the street or touched on a public way or in public transport cannot be termed as accused or participative to an extent of mental culpability and she cannot be held for illegal omission to make her liable for prosecution.”

It is an unsaid fact that the present respondent (Shilpa Shetty) had not kissed, but was kissed, the court noted.

Obscenity on her part is not evident. There is nothing on record on the prima facie evidence of annoyance by the complainant, the judge said.

On the allegation of “indecent representation of women”, the court said the Act means the depiction in any manner of the figure of a woman, her form or body or any part thereof in such a way as to have the effect of being indecent ..

However, “there is nothing to suggest” that the Bollywood star committed anything as such to act to make it an offence under the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act in any form, the court said.