Click to play videoWho would have thought a spontaneous kiss on the cheek could snowball into such a huge kissa.
Just when we thought the Shilpa Shetty-Richard Gere kissing controversy was kissed goodbye, a local court in Jaipur issues an arrest warrant against the Hollywood actor and summons the Bollywood bombshell to appear before the court on May 5.
This comes after a Jaipur advocate filed a PIL alleging that the act constituted obscenity in a Public place. It’s not the first time the kiss is under scrutiny.
The Court in its order said the attitude of the two film personalities was highly erotic and transgressed all limits of vulgarity.
Not just that, Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan also got lip-locked into controversy over a kiss in Dhoom 2.
Is kissing in public or on screen such a crime, or is this a classic case of judicial overreach?
That was the big debate on CNN-IBN special show Kiss And Tell conducted by Anubha Bhonsle.
On the panel of experts to discuss the issue were TV personality and actor Pooja Bedi, Supreme Court senior lawyer Dushyant Dave and petitioner Poonam Chand Bhandari.
Can we handle a kiss in public?
When asked to Pooja Bedi that can Indians see people kiss each other in public, she said, “I just want to say one thing at the beginning I love the witticism but the issue is so much more deeper and grave than that. This moral policing has to stop. You look at operation majnu Meerut where they attacked couple for just being together. In a cosmopolitan city like Mumbai where couples are hauled up for hugging each other and holding each other. What have we come to? I don’t think it’s a voice a majority.”
“I don’t think there is anything wrong in showing affection in hugging someone showing that you love somebody. There is difference between affection and obscenity like you have to do a lip lock or tongue kissing may be that something too much to digest but if a person being affectionate, I think nothing wrong in that,” she added.
But who decides what is affection when does it cross over to obscenity who decides that a kiss is ok a hug is fine or a lip lock is not.
Pooja Bedi argued, ”Exactly that’s the point that need to be addressed. That is an issue that needs to be taken up in the court with people that they need to formulate laws that define clearly what is obscenity what is vulgarity and what is just affection.”
Shilpa Shetty has said that she has no problem with the kissing and there was no problem. What did you find objectionable about Shilpa- Gere’s kiss?
Taking a cue from the argument Poonam Chand said, “It is offence in IPC under Section 284. If someone does an obscene at in a public place and it annoys others then it is an offence. If someone does not annoy others then its not offence. It’s not a PIL, I have filed a criminal complaint. Shilpa Shetty no aware of the fact that it is an offence. Guilty must be punished.”
Kiss 'warrants' an arrest?
We would perhaps expect some people to get upset because Geer kissed Shilpa Shetty in public. What many perhaps can’t believe that the court has decided to issue warrant against them.
Answering the question Dushyant said that issuance of summons in a criminal matter is an extremely serious matter.
“The first issue that has to be really considered here is issuance of summons in a criminal matter is an extremely serious matter and although the magistrate does have the power the power is required to be exercised on the basis of well settled principles. It cant be that the magistrate issues an order either a non-bailable warrant or summoning an accused just because a complaint has been filed,” he said.
“He is required to apply his mind and he has to consider the law and its only there after he can really proceed further. I think what seems to have happened here is that it’s simply on the basis of the complaint that Mr Bhandari has filed that the magistrate has straight away proceeded and I personally feel that the magistrate has really not considered the law so far obscenity is concerned. “
One would expect the courts, even if is lower courts would have these checks and balances in place to avoid entertaining PILs like these?
Dushyant strongly agreed up on the fact and said,” Absolutely there are sufficient checks and balances in the criminal procedure court itself and that’s why I said that the magistrate is not mechanically required to issue a process as he has done in the recent case. Because the law of obscenity over a long period of time has undergone a change.”
Poonam Chand was asked that what bothered him, more the kiss or the fact that it happened in public and would he be ok if it would have just a hug.
Disagreeing to the fact Poonam Chand said, “It is offence and I agree with Mr council that the court in fact has not passed the order mechanically. Court see my compliant my statement and oath, there after the order was passed.”
Kissing and hugging in public place
What really you can do in public and what really you can’t. Who kisses in public in India? You don’t see people kissing in public all the time in India that’s why the attention shifted away from that AIDs awareness programme to this kissing controversy.
“Times are changing. Gone are the days when sati was a noble act and it was norm to have something like dowry. Times are changing the way we dressed changes women are no longer related to kitchen only and made to stop working after marriage. Times are changing and moralities are changing and we have to keep up with those time, “Pooja Bedi replied.
Criticising what Bedi’s statement Poonam Chand said, “Here in our country parliament makes law. Discussion takes place and after that they have made the law. If you are kissing in a public place its an offence. If we don’t stop it then they will do it in other places too.”
Once the government in the political establishment actually creates an environment where any bureaucrat can function as a moral policemen and it actually sets the tone for the rest of the society.
So the courts really are following what the govt is doing. Now if FTV can be banned for showing world’s sexiest advertisements what’s wrong with the Jaipur court?
Answering the question Dushyant said, The SC over the year’s really re-defined the concept of obscenity and has said that the morality has to be understood with the changing perspectives in the society. It can’t be that you look at Section 294 of the IPC in isolation. This act of Gere and Shilpa you have to look at the circumstances in which it took place the place in which it took place the magistrate has not considered anything.”
Final results of the poll: Is kissing in public, in cinema such a crime, or is this a classic case of judicial over reach?
Yes – 43 per cent
No – 57 per cent
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