Woman groped in public can’t be accused of obscenity: Court
The court made this observation while rejecting an appeal filed by Mumbai police, challenging discharge of actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra from an obscenity case registered against her and American actor Richard Gere, who had kissed her at a public event in Delhi in 2007.
MUMBAI: A woman groped in a public place or touched inappropriately on public transport cannot be charged with obscenity, the sessions court has observed.
The court made this observation while rejecting an appeal filed by Mumbai police, challenging discharge of actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra from an obscenity case registered against her and American actor Richard Gere, who had kissed her at a public event in Delhi in 2007.
Additional sessions judge SC Jadhav has on April 3 upheld the order passed by a metropolitan magistrate court, discharging Shetty. In its detailed order, which became available on Tuesday, the court said, “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.”
The court said the actress did not kiss the American actor, but the later kissed her at the public event and therefore no criminal intent could be attributed to her.
On January 18, 2022, metropolitan magistrate Ketaki Chavan had discharged the actress from the case, observing that the charges levelled against her were groundless. “On reading the complaint, it seems that the present accused i.e. Shilpa Shetty is the victim of alleged acts of accused No. 1 (Gere),” the court had said.
The MRA Marg police had appealed before the sessions court, saying that the actress allowed herself to be kissed in full public view and therefore, within the purview of an obscene act. The police also contended that the discharge order was passed without following the principles of natural justice.
The sessions court rejected the contentions and said, “It is an unsaid fact that the present respondent had not kissed but was kissed. Obscenity on her part is not evident. There is nothing on record to elaborate on the prima facie evidence of annoyance by the complainant.”
While holding the order passed by the magistrate court right, the sessions court said, there is absolutely no prima facie material against Shetty to proceed with the trial against her.
On April 15, 2007, Gere and Shetty were at an AIDS Awareness Event in Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar in Outer Delhi. During the event, Gere, kissed Shetty on her cheeks in what was claimed to be an act to spread awareness that kissing was safe and that it could not lead to transmission of HIV.
However, a complaint was filed before the judicial magistrate in Mundawar in Rajasthan seeking registration of offence against both the actors claiming that kissing in public is obscene and Shetty was accused of having participated in the act as she did not object when Gere kissed her.
Later, a case was registered under sections 292, 293, 294 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for doing obscene acts in public and under the Information Technology act and Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986.
Acting on a plea filed by the actress, in November 2011, the Supreme Court transferred the case to the metropolitan magistrate court at Ballard Estate, Mumbai. In February 2017, the actress applied for discharge, contending that the allegation against her was that she did not protest when Gere kissed her and by no stretch of the imagination would this make her a co-conspirator in the alleged crime.
The actress had responded to the appeal, saying she was a victim of malicious proceedings and harassment and that she would file a separate proceeding against the complainant for initiating a false case.
