The Indian judge who issued a warrant for U.S. actor Richard Gere and Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty for their public kiss and embrace has been transferred.
Dinesh Gupta was moved, effective immediately, from the city of Jaipur to the town of Kishangarh, the Times of India reported Thursday.
Gupta issued the warrant against the actors after a resident complained about the public display during an AIDS awareness event in New Dehli in early April. Gere since has said the action -- denounced by conservatives throughout the country -- was not intended to offend Indian sensibilities.
The warrant from the judge, who called the embrace and kiss "highly sexually erotic," was criticized in India, with legal experts saying it had no merit.