Gere Cleared of Obscenity Charges in India

Los Angeles -- Authorities in India canceled an arrest warrant for U.S. actor Richard Gere, who was cleared of obscenity charges for kissing a Bollywood actress in public.

Gere sparked outrage in India when he kissed Shilpa Shetty at an AIDS awareness event in the country last year.

He apologized the for the incident, but a warrant for his arrest was issued on the grounds he violated India's public obscenity laws.

Usmagazine.com said Friday Gere's lawyers appealed to the court to have the warrant dropped.

A two-judge bench, headed by the Chief Justice of India, K.G. Balakrishnan, has since deemed the charge against the actor "frivolous," the report said.

"Richard Gere is free to enter the country," Balakrishnan said. "This is the end of the matter."

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.