India's high court suspends arrest warrant against Gere

New Delhi - India's Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended a local court's arrest warrant against Hollywood star Richard Gere, who has been accused of violating the country's public obscenity laws by kissing Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty. Richard Gere - ... EPA/STEFAN ZAKLIN

Richard Gere - ... EPA/STEFAN ZAKLINA panel of judges headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan also suspended judicial proceedings in three local courts against Gere and Shetty until it decided on the latter's petition seeking a transfer of the cases to Mumbai, where she lives. A judge in the northern city of Jaipur issued an arrest warrant last month against Gere and summoned Shetty to the court, saying that Gere's kisses on Shetty's cheek during an AIDS awareness event last month violated the country's public obscenity laws. The judge was transferred from his post this month after India's legal experts excoriated him for behaving like the Taliban's morality police and seeking 'cheap publicity.' The Supreme Court's orders came after Shetty on Monday petitioned it to transfer the three criminal cases to Mumbai. Gere's onstage kiss on April 15 in New Delhi led to protests by conservative Hindu nationalists and Muslim groups in Indian cities who said that kissing in public was indecent and against Indian culture. During the event, Gere hugged Shetty tightly, dipped her and kissed her repeatedly on the cheek. Organizers described it as an unplanned and harmless song-and-dance spoof intended to entertain and show that kissing alone does not spread AIDS. Shetty said she had not been offended and had no problems with Gere. Gere later offered to apologize, saying he had regard for Indian customs, but Gere also denounced a 'small right-wing minority' who he said was responsible for the protests. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur