HC dismisses Juhi Chawla's suit against 5G tech, imposes fine of Rs 20 lakh

The Delhi High Court, on Friday, dismissed actress-environmentalist Juhi Chawla’s suit which had talked about the harmful environmental effects of the 5G technology for wireless mobile broadband. 
 

In its order, the court said that the plaintiffs had abused the process of law and imposed a fine of Rs 20 lakh. 
 

Earlier this week, during the virtual court hearing on the lawsuit, the Delhi HC had questioned Chawla for directly approaching the court and not the government.
 

“This seems to be a publicity stunt. Why have you not approached Govt before coming to us? Has Govt refused to act on the issue? How has the Govt denied you any right?” the court had observed during the hearing.
 

In her petition, Chawla had claimed that the 5G rollout in India will harm public health, as the radiation that it emits will be “extremely harmful and injurious to the health and safety of the people”.
 

In a statement, the actor had said she was not “against implementing technological advancements,” but added that while using wireless devices one is “in a constant dilemma” about “RF (radiofrequency) radiation from wire-free gadgets and network cell towers”.
 

Earlier on Friday, Chawla, to clear the air, explained that her petition wasn’t against 5G technology, but had sought clarity from the government over whether the technology is safe for humankind, flora and fauna.

While dismissing the petition, the court said, "Juhi Chawla's lawsuit defective, abuse and misuse of process of law, wasted court's time and filed it to gain publicity."

The court explained that the suit had been filed for publicity as Chawla had shared the web link of the hearing on social media, which led to an interruption of the proceedings by unknown people. 

During the hearing on Wednesday, an attendee had disturbed the procedings by singing songs from Chawla's movies, leading the court to direct 'contempt of court' action against the troublemaker.