Mel Gibson booked on battery charge

Mel Gibson has been booked and released on a battery charge (AP)

Mel Gibson has been booked and released on a battery charge as part of the criminal case involving his former girlfriend.

The actor-director turned himself in to the El Segundo Police Department, Los Angeles.

He was fingerprinted and his mug shot was taken, a requirement of a plea deal that resulted in him being on probation for three years and attending a year of domestic violence counselling.

The 55-year-old Oscar winner was accused of striking his then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva during a fight in January 2010, but his no contest plea did not include an admission of guilt.

Gibson opted to turn himself in on the same night his film "The Beaver" premiered at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas.