Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Miami Herald, April 27, 2007
A court issued arrest warrants for the Hollywood actor and Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty on Thursday in India, saying their kiss at a public function "transgressed all limits of vulgarity."
Judge Dinesh Gupta issued the warrants in the northwestern city of Jaipur after a local citizen filed a complaint charging that the public display of affection offended local sensibilities, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
Gupta earlier viewed television footage of the event, which he called "highly sexually erotic," saying the pair violated India's strict public obscenity laws.
Gere and Shetty "transgressed all limits of vulgarity and have the tendency to corrupt the society," PTI quoted the judge as saying.
Such cases against celebrities -- often filed by publicity seekers -- are common in conservative India.
Gere left India shortly after the kissing incident and it was not immediately clear how the warrant would affect him. His publicist, Alan Nierob, said there would be no comment from the actor.
Under Indian law a person convicted of public obscenity faces up to three months in prison, a fine, or both.
Last week, crowds in several Indian cities burned effigies of the 57-year-old star of An Officer and a Gentleman,American Gigolo and Pretty Woman after he embraced Shetty and kissed her several times on her cheeks during an HIV/AIDS awareness event in the Indian capital.
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